War Brings Peace of Mind
by Hazel Roses
Summary: War is brewing between the great nations and the Fire Nation is target by Earth, Lightning, and Water. Sakura is shocked when the Akatsuki move into Konoha and become their allies. These were their enemies for so long and now she was there to help them with anything they needed. At first Sakura was furious, but she's surprised to see they have their human tendencies.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so I recently became obsessed with Deidara. For some reason he's so hot now lol. So I decided to write a DeidaraxSakura then I moved to a different account and realized that I love SakuraxAkatsuki fics. So now that's what it is ^_^.  
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**A/N: It will also have some AU things incorporated.**

* * *

Sakura jumped back breathing heavily. Her assailant smiled wickedly at her and advanced, holding a long sword in each of his hands. His swords were made of something much harder than diamonds and when she finally got close enough to hit them, they only cracked a little. He laughed maniacally and sliced her arm. Pink hair filtered around the eighteen year old Jounin's face as she jumped backwards, managing to move enough to where he didn't cause a serious injury, but it still hurt all the same...that bastard.

The young kunoichi had no idea why this guy was after her in the first place. She had never seen him before in her life...but then he started ranting about her being a Konoha bitch. Ah, it was all completely clear now. Frowning as soft green leaves filtered around her body from when he had swiped at her, Sakura decided then and there that she wasn't going to be taken by the likes of this guy... or any guy for that matter. He was the twenty-third person to come at her spouting this nonsense and Sakura knew exactly why.

"So which nation are you from?" she panted as she dodged his sharp silver blades once more.

"I'm from the Village Hidden in the Clouds," her assailant said, a maniacal grin on plastered on his thin face. "Ever since I first saw you I decided that I wanted to stain that cotton candy hair of yours with your blood."

Sakura's brow knitted in confusion; had she met this nutcase before? Oh well, it didn't really matter though. Since she wore the Konohagakure Hitai-ate, she was a considered an enemy to all three of the other nations: Lightning, Earth, and Water.

The Fire Country was currently at war with the other three great nations except the Wind Country who was their solid alliance because of the strong bond that had been formed years before. The other nations had agreed that not only did the Fire Country have too much power and influence over everyone else, it had too many threats. They were paranoid that the Fire Country would grow too powerful and take over the other nations and decided that they were going to take over and distribute the power amongst themselves. Their greatest ninjas would be sent to protect other countries, mainly those containing the Jinchuriki. The cowards were going to attack Konoha first because that was where the Hokage and elders were, the main source of power in the Nation. If they took them out, it would be a lot easier to gain control of the rest of the country...or so they thought.

Sakura knew that there was no way that any one of the ninjas that lived there were going to let some outsiders get to the Hokage and even if they did, that woman was no push over. The fiery blonde could probably take out more men than they could with her massive strength. Of course, Tsunade was a smart woman and first tried to make peace with the other Nations. She insisted that they would never attack anyone without cause and that cause would only be if they were endangering her people. She told them that she had no interest in taking over anyone else's land and asked what the Fire Nation could to do prove their loyalty. Their response was they would rather be safe than sorry and completely ignored the question of proving loyalty...bunch of pansies.

It made Sakura proud that the other three nations had to combine their power to even have a chance of defeating them. She could feel that pride well up in her chest whenever she destroyed someone who attacked her. What was even better was that they had friends like Gaara of the Sand and his siblings along with their shinobi to help. Anytime the Leaf needed them, they would come no matter what.

She didn't think she had encountered someone like this guy before though. Sakura had next to no trouble with the others, but then again she was alone right now and already tired from a day of working at the hospital.

Sakura had been taking her usual path through the woods to get home after visiting the Hokage once her day was finished when this guy came after her. She had simply been enjoying a calm spring afternoon. The birds were chirping their relaxing lullaby as the forest was illuminated in warm colors like red, orange, and yellow due to the sun sinking lower every moment. A gentle breeze teased her cheeks, making the medical nin feel one with natural. Such a beautiful and peaceful sight was the forests of Konoha; she saw another man leaning against a tree and Sakura assumed that he was also enjoying the scenery, but then she saw he was wearing a Hitai-ate from the side view she got of him and she realized she couldn't place his features with anyone else.

Long brown hair stopped in the middle of his back although it was pulled up in a ponytail; grey eyes flashed at her with both anger and entertainment as he attacked her without saying anything. She must have been battling him for a while now. So far, it looked like she was losing which was making her more than angry.

"Just who the hell are you!" Sakura shouted at him from the branches of a large oak tree.

He chuckled and smiled up at her. "You won't be alive much longer so it doesn't really matter now does it?"

He did a few hand signs while still holding on to his swords and pointed them towards the sky "Lightning Style: Fangs of Lightning."

Large clouds began to gather over head, darkening as they conjugated together. Sakura looked up as she heard the thunder roll heavily overhead and a single rain drop fell from a blackened cloud and slid down her cheek. Strong gusts began to rip around her body and she shielded her eyes from flying debris; the man began to laugh maniacally, lightning striking his swords and illuminating the area around them. Suddenly a bolt of electricity landed no less than three feet away from her. Sakura jumped out of the way at the last second and threw kunai at her attacker. They had paper bombs attached to them and the Cloud nin tried to jump out of the way when they exploded. He stood in a tree opposite of her, his shirt gone and burn marks prevalent on his chest from the paper bombs.

"You're going to have to try harder than that if you think you can get rid of me," he said chuckling. He then poofed away.

"A shadow clone!" Sakura said incredulously.

She turned around and saw the man falling towards her with that same crazy smile on his face. "I've got you!"

"Move away!"

Sakura didn't know where the new voice came from, but she immediately jumped into the brushes. Loud explosions echoed next to her and debris flew everywhere. She covered her head with her arms and waited for it to die down. Once it did, she coughed at the large cloud of grey smoke billowing around her. She stood up and tried to open her eyes, but they were watering badly. The blinded girl jumped back a bit into fresh air, her eyes fixated on where the explosion had come from.

A male with long blonde hair stepped forward, bangs covering the left side of his sun kissed face; a tan kasa hat was atop of his head. There was something extremely familiar about him and he smirked at Sakura when she noticed his robes.

"You're from the Akatsuki," she accused. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not how you talk to someone who just saved you're ass, yeah?" he responded as he crossed his arms, his smirk staying on his lips. "I think a 'thank you' is in order."

"I didn't ask you to save me," Sakura countered as she moved closer to him. "I'll take you out myself!"

The Akatsuki was a gang of rogue-ninjas that were after the Tailed Beasts. They were thought to be the strongest of shinobi, containing members with unique and fearsome powers. From his appearance, she had no doubts about his identity. This was Deidara, Master of Explosions. There wasn't much on how he used his powers because most didn't live to see it. All that was known was that he had two mouths in his hands and he used some sort of clay that was explosive. That must have been what he used to take out that guy who was bothering her.

Sakura rushed him, her fist raised. He shook his head and smiled, single sky blue orb sparkling with amusement. "You're just as stupid as you look, un."

Deidara dodged every punch and kick she threw at him. She was already tired because her chakra had been depleted in the last battle plus her injuries didn't help much either, but the annoyed woman _really_ wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

The traitor Cloud nin caught her hand, whirled her around, and locked an arm around her neck. She struggled, but she was too tired to put up much of a fight. She breathed heavily as he held her tightly.

"What do you want with me?" she hissed, still squirming against him.

"Nothing," Deidara responded. "You were the one attacking me, yeah?"

He was right but what did he expect? He was a wanted criminal and she served as justice; it was inevitable for her to try and take him out. It made her and the other ninjas' job much easier if he was gone. Maybe if she was at her full strength, she could have taken him on, but Sakura was fully aware that he wouldn't have been an easy opponent.

It was then that Sakura noticed that his firm chest was pressed firmly against her back. She felt a blush creeping across her face with how near he was. "You can let me go now."

"Are you getting nervous?" he asked, his breath fanning over the back of her neck, making goose bumps rise.

"No," she said harshly, viridian irises glowering at him.

He chuckled and bent down near her ear, his blonde hair gliding over her shoulder. "I think you are." Sakura could hear voices coming towards them. She smirked at the realization that he would have to let her go now and he did. As she turned to face him Deidara grinned at her. "I'll see you later Sakura."

With that he retreated, Sakura's gaze following after him. "How did he know my name?"

She tried to shake the feeling that he gave her off as Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei burst through the woods. They looked around at the disheveled landscape and Naruto moved up to her quickly, his face taut with anger.

"What happened!" the Kyuubi Jinchuriki demanded.

"Some guy tried to attack me. He was from the Village hidden in the Clouds," she answered as she winced at her injuries. Sakura didn't have enough chakra left to heal them so she would just have to wait until she got to the Konoha medical ward.

"Who was he?" Kakashi questioned.

"He didn't say," Sakura answered as she pointed to what was left of the guy. "He was about to finish me off and take me away when Deidara came in an-"

Naruto looked at her strangely. "Deidara from the Akatsuki saved you?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit surprised by it myself," she admitted.

Sakura could see him in her mind. His long hair caressing his shoulders as the wind blew. The way his bangs covered one eye only allowing her to see one sky blue orb. Those features were similar to Naruto's but different at the same time. He looked more...mature. Then again he probably was a few years older than the both of them.

"I guess the Akatsuki was serious then," Sai said seriously.

"What are you talking about Sai?" Sakura asked gazing over at him.

"The Hokage will tell you when you get back," Kakashi answered as he hooked her arm over his shoulder, supporting her weight as they began to move back towards their home.

Sakura wondered what was going on. Why in the world was an Akatsuki so close to their village? What was up with these annoying ass people coming to fight her? A full attack hadn't been issued so she guessed these people were acting on their own free will.

The group of four began to move back into the Village Hidden in the Leaves. As they dashed through the trees, her unnaturally pink hair whipped around her face. Jade colored eyes glanced at her teammates, wondering what it was they knew and she didn't.

The scenery blurred together as they sped through the bushes. The sun was sinking fast behind the horizon. The storm cloud from that weird ninja had dissipated right after Deidara blew him up, but she had been too occupied with him to notice until just now.

It was a beautiful autumn evening and as they entered the village, people were busting throughout the streets. The laughter of children could be heard as they hurried to the Hokage's office. Some of the villagers waved kindly to them. They returned the gestures quickly and soon were bounding up the steps of the tower.

Naruto pushed open the double doors and their sensei helped Sakura through it with Sai trailing behind. Team Kakashi climbed the stairs and once the four shinobi reached the fifth floor, they traveled through the long, winding hallways. Doors passed on either side of them, but they didn't stop until the reached the one that they knew belonged to the Fifth Hokage. They knocked and entered; Sakura's mouth immediately dropped open.

Every last one of the Akatsuki were in the office just standing there like everything was fine. Sakura's gaze traveled to the man with a ridiculous amount of piercings and burnt orange hair who was standing on the right hand side of the blonde Hokage. She was in her usual pose (when she wasn't splayed out from large amounts of sake), her elbows resting on the desk, fingers locked together, and a serious look on her face. Her rich light brown eyes traced over Sakura in concern.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"Is that all you have to say?" she asked incredulously. "Do you realize the entire Akatsuki is standing in your office?"

"Speak the obvious you dumb bitch," a male with silvery hair that looked like it was gelled back said smartly, his violent eyes flashing irritably as he crossed his arms over his visible chest. The man turned slightly away, grey, black, and red scythe on his back gleaming in the light.

"Be quiet Hidan," the male that was standing next to Tsunade said coolly.

The one called Hidan "hmphed" but didn't say anything more. Tsunade's expression didn't change. "Yes that is why I have called you. The Akatsuki will be staying here in Konoha."

_"What!"_ Sakura bellowed. "Why would you allow the enemy to live with us! Did you forget that they are after the Jinchuriki and Naruto happens to be one?"

"I am aware of that, Sakura," Tsunade responded, her voice sounding almost annoyed. "The Akatsuki has agreed not to hunt Naruto and also the Kazekage if we assist them with their goal."

"I don't understand."

"Our main objective is peace," the man with the many piercings said. Sakura also noticed the strange ringlets in his eyes and it sent a chill up her spine. He obviously had some kind of eye technique that was probably an Ocular jutsu like the Sharingan or Byakugan. "We were going to gather the Jinchuriki in order to use them to create peace. Others have already tried to hire us in order to defeat you, but they have no real power on their own. We have agreed to remain loyal to Konoha in order to fight for this peace. "

"So are you still going to collect the tailed beasts?" Sakura questioned.

"Precisely," the man answered, "but we have agreed to not come after the Shukaku or the Kyuubi for now. By the time we gather the other tailed beasts, if peace has not been reached and the Fire Country is indeed in a full blown war, we will gather the last two and eliminate."

"Eliminate what?" she asked meekly.

"You know the answer to that," he answered smoothly.

So if there wasn't peace in a certain amount of time, they were going to strike fear by destroying the ones causing the war. That didn't seem worthy enough to keep them around. Sakura thought for a moment, if they had the Akatsuki on their side, maybe people would back off and stop trying to start a war. Of course it would make the Fire Country look even worse since they were working with a bunch of rogue ninja, but she preferred the lives of her fellow villagers over the respect of countries she didn't care about.

"They will be collecting a Jinchuriki once every two months," Tsunade continued. "That gives us a year and two months to try and stop this ridiculous war from starting...or end it before that time."

It was true that troops had not come to their doorstep yet. Only certain ninja would come and attack Konohagakure, but of course they were unsuccessful. That guy she fought had to be really strong in order to get past the gates.

"Pain will be seen with me every so often," the Hokage continued motioning to the man with the freaky eyes. "Since he is the leader, he has control over the others. Sakura, you will be working with Shizune to find a way to extract the Bijuu without killing the host. "

"What will the villagers say when they realize the Akatsuki is in our village! What if they turn against us!" Sakura exclaimed, completely ignoring what her mentor said.

"If they do, then we aren't as stable a village as we think we are," Tsunade answered as she stood. "We will gather to villagers together next Saturday and announce it. The Jounin will be spreading the word. Posters will be put up in every booth in the market place."

This was too much for Sakura to handle. They were teaming up with the Akatsuki although it made the most sense, they were still teaming up with criminals. These people killed anyone who got in their way. They were ruthless, feared by some of the strongest people, and they were going to be within her vicinity for over a year. They said they wouldn't take Naruto and Gaara, but what about the villagers?

"They won't harm anyone here right?" Sakura asked.

"Only intruders," Pain responded. "We will not harm any of the villagers as long as they don't defy us."

That wasn't exactly the answer she was looking for, but it was better than nothing. Sakura felt her last bit of strength being drained from her. Her head drooped and she was sucked into oblivion.

Kakashi caught her before she slumped to the floor. "I need to get her to the hospital wing. Her chakra level is nearly depleted."

"I see," Tsunade answered. "Take her. Naruto, Sai, stay here."

Kakashi nodded silently and exited. Naruto gazed at the Akatsuki warily but when his gaze dropped on Itachi, his face hardened. He still hated the Konoha traitor for what he did to Sasuke. If it wasn't for him, Naruto's best friend would have never left Konoha. The Kyuubi Jinchuriki glowered at the man before him. He made no effort in hiding that he was looking at him with all the malice he could muster.

Itachi's Sharingan eyes turned to meet Naruto's deep blue orbs. The tension between them could be easily picked up by the others in the room. Itachi didn't avert his gaze as Naruto continued to stare him down. His face was blank as usual, but his mouth was twisted down slightly in what looked like a hint of annoyance. His thin, dark eyebrows where furrowed a little, but not enough to make him look angry. He turned his body so he was facing Naruto head on. Tsunade decided to step in before things got ugly.

"Naruto, do you know what happened to Sakura?" she questioned as she moved around her desk to lean against it.

"No," Naruto said shortly, calm rage written on his face as he and Itachi continued to have their stare down match. It was obvious he didn't register the question because he did know what happened. Sakura had told him since that was the first question Naruto asked her when they found their teammate bruised and battered.

"The man who attacked her was from the Lightning country," Sai answered. "Cloud Village."

Tsunade face contorted with anger, but then it quickly passed as if it wasn't there. She couldn't lose her cool now. She knew that Sakura was a strong woman. She had trained her to be that way and she was damn proud of her progress. Her apprentice was very close to surpassing her strength. Sakura's chakra control was perfect and her medical ninjutsu was broadening everyday. That girl, well woman now, was her prodigy and the Hokage knew that she would do great things in the future. This whole generation of ninja would be making the world a better place.

"She said that she was almost defeated, but the Akatsuki saved her," Sai continued, ebony gaze looking over their guests.

Tsunade was glad to hear it. The Akatsuki seemed to be holding up their end on the agreement to help them in battle. "Who saved her?"

"I did," Deidara spoke, but didn't move from his spot. "You should tell her to be more thankful when someone saves her."

The Hokage snorted. "She's very headstrong. She'll come around though."

"I will not always be here, but the Akatsuki have telepathic abilities through our rings," Pain said changing the subject. He motioned to a woman with hair that was a navy blue and a beautiful origami flower in it. She was the only female standing before her and Tsunade could some what sense her authority over the other members besides Pain. "Konan will relay any messages I have for you."

"Very well," Tsunade responded. "Sai, show them to their quarters. Once I heal Sakura, she will follow. She will be staying next door so anything you need to know, she will answer. Sakura will also provide medical attention to anyone who needs it."

The artist nodded and exited, Akatsuki members following after him. Their quarters were on the second floor of the tower. The first floor was large and spacious, but it was where the requests for missions were read over and categorized. It was also where their fees were paid and the treasury safe was on the far left corner, containing their profits. It was guarded with a strong jutsu to only allow one of the secretaries to open it and it was only opened once the visitor had left while two guards stood by. The guards and secretary were retired Jounin whose loyalty to Konoha was undoubted so there was no fear of theft, but measures had been taken just in case.

The second floor where the Akatsuki would be staying had ten large rooms all together. Each had their own bathroom filled with toiletries that were necessary along with towels and hair products. The bedrooms each had a king sized bed and a long dresser with a nicely sized mirror on it. White walls were what surrounded them, but Tsunade was going to allow them to do whatever they liked to make their new homes more likable. The rooms were actually for the Hokage's family to live, but since Tsunade had no living family, this worked out perfectly.

The third floor was the cafeteria. There were only a few people working right now as only the Hokage, the Elders, and Shizune lived there, but she was going to have to hire a few more now that the Akatsuki would be living with them as well. The cafeteria took up most of the floor, but there were a few rooms for the chefs who lived on the premises.

The fourth floor was where the elders lived. Tsunade hated that they were in the same vicinity as her. Those wrinkly old prunes constantly hassled her about how she did things. She would strangle the old bats if she could. Well technically she could, but it wouldn't be a good idea.

Although they downgraded her constantly on her ways, she couldn't deny that they were wise and knew much about Konoha and other things that Tsunade herself was unaware of. She was truly surprised when they agreed to let the Akatsuki stay. Of course at first they declined harshly asking why they should allow those murderers to live among them. Since the Akatsuki was present at the time, Kisame, the man who resembled a shark with his blue skin and gills on his face, spoke and pointed out that all ninja killed, whether for justice or their own reasons.

The Elders then said that it would put a strain on the failing relationship that they already had with the other nations. Konan then reminded them that other countries had already tried to hire them in order to take out the Fire Nation. She also mentioned that people were subtly trying to attack their ninja.

It really was Danzo who persuaded them by pointing out it was better they had the Akatsuki, especially with their goals to capture the Bijuu. If other nations got a hold if them, then they would hesitate to use them against their people. The old man said that since the Akatsuki agreed not to hurt the villagers and live peacefully with them while still collecting the Tailed Beasts, they weren't doing any harm. The icing on the cake was that they would not harm the Kazekage or Naruto for now and assist in battle. Tsunade found Danzo to be very shady, but she silently thanked him for convincing the old birds to agree to it.

The Hokage's room was down the hall from her office, but she only used it to sleep and bathe.

The sixth and highest floor contained the library of top secret information along with research material and the basement was where Ibiki did his interrogations. She didn't bother contacting him for interrogation on the Akatsuki. They were much to powerful and on top of that, they wouldn't tell anything unless they felt like it. There really wasn't a need to interrogate them. Their goal was known so they didn't have anything to worry about...for now.

Tsunade rubbed her temples and looked at Naruto who was unusually quiet. "Go inform the Jounin to report to my office."

"I can't believe you're letting the Akatsuki stay here!" he exclaimed as he advanced closer. "They have hurt so many innocents to get to their goals! And Itachi, he annihilated his entire clan and he's being welcomed back with open arms!"

"There's so much you don't know!" Tsunade shouted angrily. "Just do what I said and let me worry about things! You aren't Hokage yet."

He stared at her a moment before turning his back. "Fine." With that he left.

Tsunade exhaled. This was going to be a hard thing to get used to, but she knew that it was for the best. The worn out woman left her office and headed to find Sakura in the hospital.

* * *

Kakashi laid the unconscious kunoichi on the clean white sheets of the hospital bed. He sat down in the chair next to the bed, crossed his legs, and pulled his book from his pocket. As much as he tried to indulge himself in the perverted deliciousness of the Icha Icha series, the situation they were in continued to seep into his mind.

He was wary of letting the Akatsuki stay, but he could understand where the Hokage came from when it came to the benefits of them being on their side. They would just have to keep their guard up, but he didn't find the Akatsuki to be a deceiving kind of group. They took what they wanted and didn't need to be conniving to do it. They were just that powerful.

The Copy Nin looked up when he heard he creak of the mahogany door to see the busty Hokage swaying through it. It wasn't that he was gazing at them, it's just it seemed like they looked at _him_ with how large they were. He personally wasn't fond of extremely large breasts and the fact that she wasn't as young as she currently looked made his eyes constantly stay locked on her face. He secretly wondered what she really looked like underneath that transformation jutsu. He now understood why when his students were younger, they were so intrigued on seeing what was underneath his mask.

_I've been around Naruto too long, _Kakashi sighed in his mind.

Tsunade nodded at Kakashi and then moved to Sakura's bedside. It wrenched her heart a bit to see her apprentice in this condition, but it also made her realize that not all their enemies would be weak.

She placed her hands over Sakura's chest and they began to glow green as Tsunade channeled her chakra into her chest; it coursed throughout the intricate veins of the chakra network. Soon Sakura's eyes fluttered under her lids for a moment before she cracked them open slightly and looked around.

Tsunade removed her hands. "You heal your own injuries now."

Sakura nodded and sat up slowly. She placed her left hand over the gash on her right forearm and the other on the cut across her thigh. She looked up at Tsunade.

"You will be the one to bring them anything they need," Tsunade said. "You live next to the tower which is where they are staying and on top of that you will have to be there often to help research a way to keep the Jinchuriki from dying when the Bijuu are extracted. You have two months before they gather the Two-Tailed beast to come up with a way to keep the host alive."

Sakura blinked at Tsunade incredulously. "Are you telling me that I have to baby-sit the Akatsuki? Why can't someone else keep up with them while I look for a way to keep the host of the Tailed beast alive? That is more important than dealing with them!"

"You will do both," Tsunade said sternly. "You are also the best medical ninja that we have which means we will need you to do quick healing sessions if they become injured. They are stronger than some of the Jounin we have here so keeping them in top shape is also a main priority along with keeping our own alive."

Sakura sucked in her cheeks. She didn't want anything to do with the group of rogue-nin. They were the enemy. Well when she thought about it, only Itachi could be considered an enemy since he was the only one from Konoha out of the group. She exhaled. She knew that although she didn't want them there, they would be a great asset in this war that was starting to brew. It was obvious that they planned to keep their word on assisting Konoha. The fact that Deidara saved her was proof enough.

_Deidara,_ she whispered in her mind, a frown crossing her face at his audacity.

She could still feel the heat of his body as he stood behind her. Deidara was a few inches taller than her so when he held her, the Konoha ninja's head could lean back comfortably on his shoulder. Long blonde hair had brushed silkily over her shoulder and tickled her cheek when he whispered to her. Sakura had noticed when she first saw him how light blue his eye was. She couldn't see the other because his long bangs covered the left half of his face completely, but she could see that they were pale like the afternoon sky and as clear as water.

Sakura shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about an Akatsuki member of all people so hard. Sure it had been awhile since she had a guy (the fling with Kiba not lasting too long) but she still can't be looking at the ones who were supposed to be the bad guys.

She had given up on Sasuke at sixteen years old. Sakura knew that she couldn't change what he allowed to fester in his heart and made Naruto fall back on his promise, which was something hard to do because Naruto never went back on his word. A little while after, she started noticing the subtle glances she would get from the Inuzuka ninja. She saw that he blushed around her and any time she touched him, he would start to stutter like Hinata. It was actually the shy Hyuuga girl who told her of Kiba's affections. For some reason after finding out he liked her, Sakura noticed how cute he was. Naruto complained about it saying that he had been trying to date her since they were little. She kindly hit him across the back of the head, told him that Hinata liked him for a long time, and called him an idiot.

They dated for six months and he was her first experience for everything. They ended up splitting because she could not handle when the Inuzuka mating season came around once a month. He would want to hump like rabbits and she never could get anything done with him always trying to take off her pants. They were still good friends though and didn't regret anything that happened between them.

Sakura pouted slightly, but not enough for her Tsunade to notice. She would do as she was told, but she wouldn't act like she was happy about it around them.

"Once you finish healing your injuries, you may go home," Tsunade instructed as she turned to leave, blonde pigtails swinging softly. "Tomorrow, bright and early you will check on the members and see if there is anything that they need. After that, head to the sixth floor and Shizune along with the other researchers will assist you in your task. Consider it an A-rank mission."

"Yes ma'am," Sakura responded as she healed the little scratch on her face. She hopped off the bed. "I've healed all the major wounds. I really just need to take a shower, get something to eat, and rest a little bit."

"Good," Tsunade said curtly as she exited.

Sakura looked over at her former sensei and he just shrugged his shoulders as he did some hand signs and disappeared. He could be just as irritating as Naruto sometimes.

Sakura stretched, her sore muscles screaming at her. She left the hospital and traveled the short distance to her home. It was next door to the tower so it wouldn't be a hassle to get there. Well with her ability it wouldn't take long even if the journey was across town. She was proud of her power and loved any opportunity to exercise it.

Once Sakura was in front of her small home, she entered, took off her jacket, and removed her shoes, leaving them at the door. The soft white carpet felt good underneath the tired woman's feet as she trudged from the door and past her living room. Sakura looked inside briefly. Her home was set up pretty nicely in her opinion, not too flashy, but not to bare either. A long couch sat on the right hand side of the room and a smaller reclining chair on the opposite side. They were both royal blue because that was her favorite color despite everyone thinking that it was pink.

In the center of the room was a table covered in medical books and scrolls. Some had rolled onto the floor next to the glass table. In front of it was a large t.v. with a few of her favorite movies stacked neatly beneath the stand it was on. There was a play station sitting on the floor in front of the stand, its two controllers wrapped up neatly. Her games were sitting next to her movies. Sakura didn't have much time to play them, but she sure did like video games.

Moved past the living room, Sakura found herself going through her small kitchen. She went over to the refrigerator on the left that was sitting next to the dynasty purple marbled counter. It curved around to the corner of the right wall. The sink was closer to the left side of the counter than the right and a large window above it. She opened the refrigerator and studied the contents inside. It was pretty bare, only having a jug of water and some left over Ichiraku from the night before.

"I really need to do some grocery shopping," Sakura muttered as she pulled out the plastic container.

Sakura would have warmed it up, but she was too hungry to do so. The hungry female wolfed it down and decided that it would have definitely tasted better warmed up. Sakura went to the opposite side of the refrigerator and threw the container in the garbage. Sakura turned on her heels and proceeded down the hallway that continued from the living room and straight through the kitchen. She passed the bathroom door on her left and went to the room at the end of the hall.

The exhausted woman smiled gratefully at her queen sized bed, royal blue comforter, and soft, fluffy pillows. She couldn't wait to lay her head down on them and sleep like a log. Next to her bed was a smaller dresser that had an alarm clock on it. Inside it were the many poems she wrote as a girl. It was strange to think that Sakura would be the type to do something so sentimental. True, she had her weak moments where she cried, but that was anyone. She wasn't one to cry anymore; not over silly matters anyway.

Sakura went over to her bed and sat down. She set her alarm for 5:00 a.m. and opened the drawer. Inside were notebooks of her writing. She picked up the red one. It contained all the heartfelt poems she had written mainly when Sasuke left. It was slightly torn and the wiring was coming off from prolonged use. Sakura let out a soft noise similar to a scoff and opened it to a random page.

_Emotions, something that is used to show feelings_

_Something that we can't touch_

_Something that comes forth from the depths of your soul_

_These can be grasped by the heart and do things that physical items can't_

_They can cut without the use of a knife_

_They can bring a smile to your face or tears to your eyes_

_They can mend a broken heart or shatter it into a million worthless pieces_

Sakura smiled slightly. She had written this after Sasuke left. That was the most devastating moment of her life. She "loved" Sasuke with everything she had. Her infatuation was so serious that she really did feel broken hearted when he left. Sakura missed him terribly for months, years after; writing poems as she sat on the bench he abandoned her on.

_It's the heart's fault that it is so easily destroyed_

_It's fragile and weak like the tender petals of a red rose_

_It has to be protected or it will easily fall to ruin_

_Make sure to keep it safe until it can be given to one who cares about its well being_

_Once the heart is exposed to love, there is no turning back_

_It is the strongest emotion of all and the heart holds on to it for strength_

_For hope_

_For the sense of being needed_

Sakura could feel those emotions as if they were pouring off the paper. She really had been a sad depressed girl, but no more. She was now a strong woman who had her priorities in order and it did not include searching desperately for a rogue-nin who didn't give a damn if she lived or died. the medical nin did admit that love could change a person's outlook on things. It sometimes made people have this sort of tunnel vision so they could only see that one person they were infatuated with. It also, when taken away, left emotions that were opposite of it. Sakura's light green eyes continued to scan the paper.

_When love grows stronger, so does the heart_

_When love is broken, the heart is shattered_

_No longer will it beat soundly with happiness_

_It will become a shell, completely hollow inside_

_The hollowness leaves room for other strong feelings_

_Jealously, resentment, hatred_

_Only time heals all wounds, but there will still be a scar_

_The one thing able to erase that scar is what placed it there_

Sakura shut the notebook and placed it back in the dresser, closing it silently. She never did rhyme with her poems, she just spread all her emotions out onto the paper. Not only did it make her feel better, but by looking back at it now, she can see how far she has come from the situation that made her feel a certain way in the first place if it was negative.

She moved over to her tall drawer, pulled out undergarments, and something to sleep in. She could see the dark blue sky of night from the window that was next to the bed, giving the room a relaxing glow. Looking at the clock, it was 7: 21 p.m. The days were already starting to grow shorter from the change in season.

Sakura untied her Hitai-ate and placed it on top of the dresser as she headed for the shower. Tomorrow and the next year were going to be a drag. Sakura rolled her eyes at how much she sounded like the lazy Shadow Ninja Shikamaru.

* * *

**A/N: The poem I found in my stash of poems from when I was little and you know what caused those feelings...the song at the beginning of the Kingdom Hearts 2 game (Dearly Beloved) O.o. I know it's weird right? I cried for hours and it was like after hearing it fifty thousand times. lol. I think it was the monthly hormones that caused it though.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you SakuraHimeYoi, Lunvenzblu, and Angel Shade for reviewing!**

**I'm excited to see where this goes! Is that crazy to say when I'm the one writing it? Lol.**

* * *

Sakura grudgingly woke up the next morning to the sound of her alarm clock shrieking in her ear. She made a fist and brought it down forcefully on the the annoying object, breaking it and the small dresser it was sitting on in half.

_Now I have to get replacements...again._

Sakura sat up and yawned. She was not looking forward to being the Akatsuki's baby sitters. This was going to be a very _long_ day.

"The sun isn't even out yet," she muttered as she got out of bed and began picking up her notebooks and papers that had scattered on the floor from when she smashed the dresser. Shards of wood and electronics littered the carpet. After she gathered her poems, she placed them on the bed and went her closet to get some clothes; she would pick up the mess later.

Sakura opened it and changed her mind about wearing her kunoichi outfit. She was technically on a mission, but she didn't feel like wearing that today. In fact, she didn't feel like getting out of her pajamas. She turned away decided she was going to wear exactly what she had on: a white muscle shirt and soft cotton pajama pants. They were lightly baggy, fuchsia colored, and said, "Pinkie" on the butt in white letters. Ino had bought them for her on her eighteenth birthday. She knew her friend was making a subtle jab at her, but it wasn't a hostile one. She an Ino had become friends again a little while after Sasuke left. Sure she still called Sakura Billboard Brow and Sakura called Ino a pig, but over all they were as close as they once had been.

Sakura grabbed her Hitai-ate and moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth, gazing at her reflection in the mirror as she did so. Sakura looked so tired, lines had formed underneath her eyes and her emerald orbs seemed dull. The exhausted woman's flamingo colored hair was in tangles so she picked up her brush from the white counter top and ran it through the knots, wincing every time she hit a particularly stubborn one. After finishing the gruesome task, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and went to her kitchen.

Sakura reached up on top of the refrigerator and pulled down a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. After setting it on the table, the hungry girl went to pull out the milk, frowning at the slightly sour odor that was coming from the open door. Sakura fixed her bowl of cereal and ate it quietly, enjoying the cinamony goodness that was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. She really wanted to be sleeping right now, but there was no point in complaining.

After she finished her bowl, Sakura placed the dishes in the sink and put the cereal and milk back. She went to the front door and slipped on her sandals. People would think the kunoichi was laid back to go on a mission dressed how she was. Sakura chuckled and wondered would the Hokage get mad at what she had on...that wouldn't be a particularly good thing though.

Sakura left her home and trudged along the quiet path. She could already see the Hokage tower from where she was. It loomed massively, looking quite menacing without the sun to illuminate it. Luckily, there would be light in the next hour.

Wheels began turning in the young woman's mind; she wondered how this relationship was going to pan out. The Akatsuki was a threat to anyone who opposed them or had a Jinchuriki within their mist. She supposed it was good that The Kazekage and Naruto would be left out of this for now. It was all up to her to find a way to keep the host alive. With how smart she was, two months was plenty of time...hopefully. Sakura honestly couldn't wait to get started. People were depending on her and she didn't want to let them down. That thought made her perk up a bit and pick up the pace.

Finally, the more alert female was at the steps of the Hokage Tower and entered the building. No one, but the guards were there that early in the morning. Their faces made it look as if it was late in the afternoon. They were wide awake and smiled at her as she walked by. Sakura waved at them and began her ascent to the Akatsuki's floor. She would see if they wanted anything first then head up to the top floor to do research on the Jinchuriki and removing the Bijuu without killing the host.

Sakura trudged up the stairs towards the floor that was completely for them. She still couldn't believe that they were pretty much treated like kings. It was borderline irritating, but she could understand the benefits of having such powerful allies.

The thoughtful girl continued in her musings, not noticing when she was on the Akatsuki floor. She nearly bumped into someone, but she heard their voices moments before she would have collided into them.

"_She smells so delicious. _**We cannot eat her, you know that."**

Sakura looked up and saw that strange man with the head of a Venus Fly Trap on his shoulders looking down at her. He looked so..._inhuman. _His skin went from coal black on the right to stark white on the left although it was opposite from the way they were facing. On top of that, he spoke as if two different people were talking. It was like he was two beings instead of one.

_Wait, did he say I smell delicious?, _Sakura thought, confused as she looked up at the man who was eying her as if she were his prey. _What did he mean by that?_

"Who are you?"

He took a step forward and Sakura fell into her defense position. "**I am Zetsu." **He moved close enough to touch her cheek with one of his cold fingers. "_Your skin feels so delectable."_

Sakura frowned, pulling away from his hand. "Are you hitting on me?"

Both halves laughed. "**I want to eat you Sakura-chan. **_Your flesh will satisfy me immensely."_

Sakura jumped backwards. What the hell! She was pretty sure he didn't mean that in a sexual way so this guy was a cannibal. She heard that the Akatsuki had someone who got rid of the bodies of those they killed, but she didn't know that they had someone _eat_ the bodies. That was beyond freaky and the fact that he was interested in making a Sakura snack didn't make her feel any more at ease. How was she supposed to be around this guy if he was going to try and make her his lunch?

His golden eyes stared at her intensely and she could sense that he was going to lunge at her at any given moment. She would beat him into fertilizer if she had to. Forget the alliance. She didn't have the time to die right now.

"Zetsu."

He turned around and Sakura looked around him to see who called his name. Sakura was pretty sure she knew who it was. There was only one female Akatsuki member.

The woman who Sakura saw yesterday stopped in front of Zetsu. She gazed up at him, her eyes just as cold as Pain's. "You may not eat her, but you may eat the bodies of the intruders."

"_Of course. _**I will dispose of any intruders."**

Sakura blinked in shock as she watched Zetsu slip through the floor and out of sight. Was he some kind of ghost as well? Geez. She looked at the now silent woman. "Thanks um..."

"Konan," she said.

"Konan."

Although she was standing in front of an Akatsuki member, Sakura didn't feel like she was in danger like how she did with Zetsu. Konan seemed more rational and very calm. Not only that, but this woman was beautiful. Sakura especially liked the piercing underneath her lips. She had wanted to get piercings when she was younger, but didn't think it would look right on her.

"Is there anything you all need right now?" Sakura questioned, remembering her role.

"Are there training grounds?"

Sakura nodded and then proceeded to give Konan directions to where the training grounds in the forest were. She warned her that children often practiced there and asked that the members would make sure none were there when they trained. Konan agreed smoothly. Sakura then told her where the kitchen was and the woman remained silent for a moment, seeming to be staring into space. Sakura moved over to her and asked her if she was alright. When the blue-haired woman snapped out of it, she explained that the Akatsuki had the ability to talk to each other telepathically and she told the other members where to find the training grounds and where they could get their meals from.

Soon, Sakura was on her way to the lab on the top floor. She was already contemplating different ways on how to keep the host alive. For now she would just study the body of the Jinchuriki before moving forward with a hypothesis. She would see how deeply the connection with the Bijuu and the host went. She had to know if their body was just a cage for the Bijuu or if it had access to the host's mind. If the beast did, she would basically have to sever that connection. She had to figure out how that harmed the person first though.

Sakura made her way back to the stairs so she could go to the top floor. She had encountered Zetsu at the opposite end of the floor so now she was walking past the Akatsuki rooms. She had three more to walk past when the second to last door opened. Sakura's heart sped up slightly.

There stood Deidara. He wasn't wearing his Akatsuki coat; only black pants similar to the one Kakashi-sensei wore. Sakura watched as he rubbed his one visible eye sleepily and placed his other hand on his stomach.

_Why in the world does my enemy have to be so attractive? _Sakura thought as her eyes greedily drank in his muscled and tanned body.

Deidara moved his hand that was rubbing his eye to run through his hair that was in its half ponytail. He finally turned and looked at her. A smirk crossed his face as he leaned against the door frame. "Did you miss me, hm?"

"No," Sakura snapped. "Why would I miss you?"

Deidara's amused expression didn't change. "The way you were staring at me made me think that way."

Sakura blushed. So he did notice that she was staring. Damn him. Who cares if she was looking? It didn't mean she wanted him or anything. She had plenty of willing suitors in Konoha and she definitely wasn't going to go crushing on an Akatsuki, no matter how perfect his body and face was.

"Shut up," was all she could manage as she went to walk past him.

When she did, she could almost feel his body heat radiating from him as he stood up straight. His gaze never left her as she walked by. Sakura accidentally caught his eye once and she quickly looked away, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. She may be one bad ass shinobi, but she was still the same girl she had always been when it came to males.

"Hm."

He constantly made that sound after a sentence, but this time was different. From the way he was looking at her. It seemed to be he liked what he saw. Not surprising. She had a pretty nice figure if she did say so herself.

"Hey Deidara, you can't keep that bitch to yourself."

Sakura frowned at the words she heard behind her. Who in the world had the audacity to call her that? She turned around and saw the man who wielded the three blade scythe walking towards them. Ah, the same one who called her that yesterday of course. He stopped right in front of Sakura and she held her ground, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. The man smirked as he ran a hand over his silver gelled hair. His exotic violet eyes roamed over her body, making Sakura feel like she was a piece of meat being held over a pack of hungry dogs.

"I'm going to fuck you," Hidan said as he moved closer and wrapped a hand around her, squeezing her butt. Viridian irises widened at his audacity.

_"Kill him!"_ Sakura's Inner screamed._ "Kick his pretty boy ass!"_

"Hidan, you bastard!" Deidara exclaimed angrily.

Sakura didn't pay attention to his outburst. She channeled chakra into her fist and punched him hard in the stomach. She hit him with enough force to knock him into the wall on the other side of the floor, but not enough to make him go flying through it like she wanted to. An angry female walked over to the jerk and looked down at him.

"You try that again and I'll personally rip your dick off and attach it to your forehead," she said through gritted teeth as her fists clenched at her sides.

Hidan placed a hand on his stomach and did the opposite of what she though he would do: he moaned. "That hurt like hell. Are you trying to turn me on?"

"What the hell?" Sakura said incredulously. "What kind of maniac are you?"

"The psycho, immortal, blood thirsty kind," Deidara answered for her as he moved behind her.

Hidan stood up and smiled wickedly at Sakura. "I think I'll fuck you first and then make you a sacrifice to Lord Jashin."

Who in the world was Jashin? Sakura thought for a moment as the name felt familiar. Sakura frowned in remembrance. Jashin was the god of the religion Jashinism. It was a bloody, sacrificial, and painful religion. Even their pain was like an offering to their god. Sakura found it utterly confusing on why they would want to serve someone who got off on killing and pain, but hey it wasn't her place to judge.

Sakura reached into her sandal and pulled out a kunai that she kept in her shoe. She knelt down and placed the cool metal against his exposed chest. "Well if that turned you on you just wait."

Sakura dragged the kunai from the left side of his chest to the right. Hidan closed his eyes and hissed. Sakura moved to the cool metal and placed it at the middle of the cut, making another incision down his chest and curving to the left.

"Fuck," Hidan cursed. He bit his lip and opened his eyes, looking at her seductively.

That look wasn't working. Sakura stood up. "There. A 'j' for Jashin. Now I must be going, you piece of shit."

Sakura turned and she felt the Jashinist get to his feet. "You're not going anywhere yet."

Hidan lunged at her with his scythe, but Sakura easily dodged it. She didn't have time to play with this lunatic. She needed to get started on this task with the Jinchuriki. Sakura landed next to Deidara, who was still glaring angrily at Hidan.

"Would you quit it you idiot! We aren't supposed to harm her or any of the villagers! Direct orders from Leader. If you want to sacrifice someone, make sure it's one of the enemy villagers, yeah."

Hidan frowned and slightly lowered his scythe and pike. He thought about what might happen if he disobeyed orders. He wasn't afraid of anyone as no one could kill him, but he had a feeling that Leader would be able to _find _a way to kill him. Oh well, props for him if he could, but for now he would drop it.

Hidan snorted and turned away. He headed past her on the stairs, stopping to look at her from over his shoulder. "When this alliance is over, I'll have my way with you."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Of course you will."

Hidan smirked and Sakura turned to follow him up the stairs. Deidara fell in step behind her. She felt a little awkward at first. She knew he was looking at her backside. It was kind of hard not to with big white letters written on it. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to wear those. Sakura turned and looked over her shoulder, seeing Deidara doing exactly what she thought he was.

"Can you keep your eyes to yourself?" she snapped.

Deidara locked eyes with her and smirked. "Can you?"

Sakura sucked in an angry breath knowing he was referring to how she had been staring at him when they first came in contact that morning. She had to get away from this rogue ninja before she tried to strangle him. It was infuriating and extremely hard to continue to hate the Akatsuki when they were sweet like Konan or handsome like Deidara. She hadn't met with the other Akatsuki except for Hidan and Zetsu, who she wouldn't mind never seeing again.

She "hmphed" and continued up the stairs to the top floor. When she reached it, she was a little disappointed that the Master of Explosions was no longer trailing her. She knew she had no reason to feel like that. He would only get in her way while she studied anyway.

* * *

Naruto was sitting at Ichiraku Ramen eating his favorite meal of all time. In the eighteen years of his life, he hadn't been this pissed in a long time. He really _really_ hated that the Akatsuki was living with them. It was like they weren't a threat when they were. They were still going to capture the Jinchuriki whether Sakura came up with a way to save them or not and continue on with whatever plan it was they had. Naruto wasn't afraid to die for his people, but he had too much to do before he died. He still had to bring Sasuke back for one.

His anger didn't affect his appetite though. If anything, thoughtfulness increased it. Naruto shoveled his food into his mouth, finishing the bowl in less than a minute and requesting another. Ayame immediately set another bowl in front of him, smiling as he began to devour it as well.

"You're going to get indigestion eating that fast."

Naruto turned to see the Toad Sage standing behind him smiling . He sat down and ordered a bowl a ramen while Naruto beamed at former teacher. "Pervy Sage! When did you get back?"

"Just came in today," the older man said as he began to eat.

Naruto was definitely happy to see his shishou. He hadn't seen those crazy white spikes that tumbled down his back or his strange sage get up in months. Jiraiya had been off on another one of his "research" trips. Now that he was an adult, he had started to notice the opposite sex the same way that Jiraiya did although he wasn't one to go peeking on women. Except for one time when he was seventeen, he had watched Sakura bathe and had his fist nose bleed. She didn't know. No one knew and he would keep it that way. He liked his face just the way it was.

Naruto frowned, remembering his anger at the Akatsuki. He turned to face Jiraiya. "You know granny let the Akatsuki live here?"

Jiraiya slurped more of his noodles. "I heard and that was why I came back. So it's true, eh?"

"Yeah," Naruto growled as he stood up angrily. "Even that bastard Itachi is here! He killed his entire clan and granny's treating them like they're fucking royalty or something!"

Jiraiya remained quiet as the rambunctious boy continued his angry rant. He could understand Tsunade's reasoning behind what she was doing. That woman was no fool and that's why he loved her. She was strong, smart, and sexy. He felt himself growing giddy just imagination her curvy figure. Oh boy, when he saw her, he was going to...

"Hellooooo?!" Naruto shouted in his ear and waved his hand in front of his face. "Are you even listening?"

Jiraiya blinked and continued. "Oh yeah, the Akatsuki."

"I asked you could you teach me another Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed irritably. "One that's good against genjutsu." Naruto stopped for a moment and frowned. "You were thinking about a woman!"

"I was not."

"I know that look anywhere Pervy Sage," Naruto said as he sat down. He wasn't as loud this time and a smile slightly appeared on his face. He sometimes hated how women were all that the Sanin thought about, but he would be lying if he didn't see him as like a grandfather kind of figure. Jiraiya had been there most of his life and although he left often, he never worried about him not coming back.

"Genjutsu isn't really my thing," Jiraiya said as he stood, finishing up his meal. "It isn't yours either."

"I know, but Itachi uses genjutsu so I have to be able to get out of it," Naruto argued. "I'm gonna get that creep for what he did."

Jiraiya turned serious eyes to his former student. "That is Sasuke's fight, not yours. He would never forgive you if you defeated Itachi."

Naruto's eyes widened in realization. Sasuke would be angry with him if he killed Itachi. After all these years, Sasuke hadn't been able to catch up to his big brother. He did once and the battle was fierce, serious damage taken on both sides, but Itachi escape moments before his younger brother could make any type of final blow. Naruto had seen it himself. The only thing stopping him from running out into the fight was Kakashi-sensei. The shinobi known as the Copy Ninja told him that Sasuke had been waiting for this moment for a long time and not to interfere so Naruto watched on as the battle raged. When it was over, Sasuke's body was so battered...

Naruto got out of Kakashi's grasp and he ran over to Sasuke, dragging Sakura with him. He yelled for her to quickly start to heal him and she didn't give it a second thought as her green chakra that matched her eyes glowing around her hands. She was quiet for a few moments then said that she mended his broken bones, but there was a lot of internal damage done to his organs. There had even been strain put on his heart and it was causing the chambers to loosen. They had to get him to the hospital immediately for surgery or he might not have made it.

Sasuke had already fallen unconscious so bringing him back to Konoha turned out to be easier than he thought. As soon as they returned, Naruto headed straight to the hospital with Sakura and Kakashi hot on his tail. Sai was also with him, but the emotionless boy did not know Sasuke and wasn't as worried for him. He followed merely to support his team mate. Naruto appreciated it, but he didn't have time to thank him.

Once Sasuke was safely in the hospital, Sakura switched into her doctor's attire and was washing her hands as he was prepped for surgery. As he was wheeled away, Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and she stopped to look at her long time friend.

"_Don't let him die," Naruto said softly._

_Sakura gave him a confident smile. "I won't."_

After a few hours, Sakura emerged and said that Sasuke's surgery had been successful. Naruto was beyond relieved and was the first one to visit him when he was able to have them. He had walked into the two bed room and saw that Sasuke was in the bed closest to the window on the right side of the room. He was sitting up and staring out of it. Naruto came over to him and stood a few feet away.

_"Glad you're alright," Naruto said quietly._

Sasuke didn't respond or even look at Naruto. His face was hard, but his body was the opposite. It looked so fragile with how much he was bandaged. His wounds were healed in sessions because Sakura said if she healed such dire wounds all at once, his body would grow used to her chakra. When the healing was finished and she didn't have to fix anything anymore, his chakra would crave hers and things could get dangerous.

_"Granny Tsunade doesn't want to punish you," Naruto continued, "but the Elders argued against it and they made the council agree on six months with a chakra seal to keep you from being able to use your Sharingan."_

_Sasuke's face hardened. Naruto to tell that he was beyond pissed off, but he was trying hard not to show it. "Do you think you can hold me here?"_

_"Yes," Naruto answered seriously, "and if you try to leave, I'll just drag your ass back."_

_"Don't expect me to thank you," he said coldly. "As soon as this thing is off, I am leaving."_

_Naruto chuckled. "I know Sasuke."_

Over those six months, Sasuke didn't attempt to make anything better for himself. He was still anti-social; he still made it blatantly obvious that he didn't want to be there. Naruto didn't let that bother him. He still made it a point to spend time with him although the Uchiha usually ignored him. At first he would leave as soon as Naruto got close, but after about a month, he didn't leave. Naruto continued to talk to him like nothing had ever changed between them and finally Sasuke asked,

"_Why do you try so hard for me dobe?"_

Naruto hadn't heard that nickname in so long and it made me feel good that Sasuke seemed to be coming around, if only it were a little bit.

"_Because I'm your friend, teme."_

Naruto swore he saw a hint of a smile cross his thin lips, but it was gone before he was sure. They were sitting in the old training grounds from when they were young gennin just learning how to be ninjas. The sun was setting as they sat in the grass that was changing color from the switch in seasons. Sasuke looked over at the sunset, the orange glow engulfing the entire forest. Sasuke turned to Naruto. This time the Jinchuriki saw the miniscule smile on the raven haired boy's face.

"_You're still an idiot, Naruto."_

After his chakra seal was taken off of his ankle, Sasuke left the night after. He didn't say anything, he didn't act any different, and he left no farewell message. Naruto wasn't surprised, he expected it from him. It had been almost two years since that happened and he still had no idea where Sasuke was. Sakura told him that he didn't have to bring him back because he fulfilled his promise to her. On top of that, she was no longer in love with the youngest remaining Uchiha. Naruto was an adult now and he could see things a little differently. He didn't want to force Sasuke to stay when he had a vow to fulfill. He wouldn't be a good friend if he did that.

"Um, Naruto?"

He turned and smiled, seeing the most beautiful woman in the world to him standing there with that shy smile and tint of blush on her porcelain skin. The wind was tussling her long dark purple hair and he found himself mesmerized any time he looked into those pale lilac eyes. Never when he looked at Neji though. That would be just weird.

Naruto stood and opened his arms to her. She timidly stepped forward and let him lock her in his embrace. If there was anyone who could put him at ease, it was this woman of the Hyuuga Clan, Hinata. She was so graceful and shy, but powerful and deadly at the same time. He was glad she came along because her presence would alleviate the anger he felt on the current situation.

He turned back to Ayame and paid for his ramen. As he went to leave, she called him back.

"Jiraiya didn't pay so you'll have to pay for his."

"_What!_ That damn Pervy Sage!"

* * *

**There you go guys the second chapter. I will warn you that I may do a lot of fluff, but I will not throw them in the sack after a few times of seeing each other. There will be fluff with other pairings with Sakura down the line as well.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you Angel Shade, ItachiFanGirl185, and ilectrathewarrior for reviewing!**

Today was the day the Hokage along with the Akatsuki members were going to go to the festival and discuss everything with them. Sakura wasn't really sure how it was going to go. She was positive there would be uproar about having a group of rogue ninja living with them, but she knew the villagers would eventually understand. They were at war and any ally was a good one. The Akatsuki had no affiliation with any one village; it was whoever they felt could further their goals and was willing to pay them. Surprisingly, the leader Pein did not request payment. He simply asked for housing for his members. That made Sakura believe that it was possible Pein was more on their side than he let on. From the few times she had been in the man's demeaning presence, all he spoke about was wanting peace.

Still, what was it that the other members wanted? Sakura had heard that each member was with the Akatsuki for their own beliefs and reasons. What were those reasons? Because they were not just following their leader, that made Sakura worry that later some of them may rebel. Sakura shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on the "what ifs". They would face the problems as they came along.

Sakura made her way through the brightly lit hospital and pushed open the double doors that lead her outside. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the early morning sun caressing her skin. Beryl orbs opened after a few moments and she began making her way towards the Hokage tower. Dread was building up inside her being. _Why _did she have to be the one to deal with the Akatsuki? Wouldn't Shizune be a better choice? She had a much more optimistic and sweet personality than Sakura. The Hokage had to know that if any of those bastards got on her nerves, she would kick their ass. That was clear from that immortal punk's antic and her response to it. Sakura gritted her teeth at the thought of it. He was such a _prick_! She wanted nothing more than to take him outback and beat the skin off him. Then again, he'd probably enjoy that.

Making her way up the stairs, Sakura began heading towards the lab to continue research on how to separate the tailed beasts from their holder. This process was going to be a lot harder than Sakura initially thought and she definitely didn't think it would be easy from the beginning. She had asked Naruto come up to the lab and used him to get a better look on what the tailed beast and the owner's chakra looked like. She was devastated to find that the two were mixed together as if stirred with a spoon. That would make it even harder to separate them. Was it even possible to reverse something like that? There had to be; Sakura understood that there was no room for failure in this mission that was given to her. With Shizune's help, they would figure out something.

Placing the numerical code in the monstrous steel door along with placing her eye in front of the scanner, the female ninja was soon allowed access into the lab. Shizune was already inside, frantically writing down something on a notepad. She was sitting on a stool, legs crossed and dark eyes clued to something that was in a little beaker in front of her. Sakura looked closer to see something red and blue swirling inside of it. As it continued to move around itself, some hints of purple were seen. She could tell from the feel of it that it was chakra, Naruto's chakra.

"Figure out anything?" Sakura questioned, placing a pack on her back down the wood floor.

Shizune snapped out of her trance and looked over at Sakura with a smile. She raised her hand that had a pen in it and placed it on her head with a chuckle. "Sorry, I've just been in the zone lately. Still, nothing concrete that will help us much. I have noticed that although Naruto's and the Nine Tail's chakra don't actually completely mix together, but there are molecules that are completely bonded. I want to try to using a very miniscule amount of chakra and use it like a knife to slowly separate the molecules."

Sakura thought about the idea for a moment. "Wouldn't we need a microscope and some sort of device that can make our chakra pulse at such a small amount? There isn't a possible way to do so with just trying to use a tiny bit. It will most likely still be too much."

"That's true." Shizune placed her notebook in her lap and sighed. "Well we'll have to find someone who would be able to create something like this."

"What about Shikamaru?"

Shizune snorted. "He probably could figure out how to make it, but as to actually making it himself, I don't think he has the ability…or the drive."

Who else was there then? Sakura informed Shizune that they should talk with the Hokage about finding someone who could make the item they would need to give their hypothesis a try. She agreed before yawning and stretching.

"Well, I'm going to go get something to eat." Shizune hooked her dark locks behind her ear. "Don't you have to start setting up for the festival tonight?"

Sakura frowned at that thought. "Yes I do. I really don't want to though."

Shizune laughed as she got up and headed for the door after locking her notes away in a drawer. "Don't let Lady Tsunade hear you say that."

That statement made a small smile break across her face. Shizune was absolutely right about that. She should look at the bright side: the festival would be very enjoyable. They always were amazing and Sakura was honestly looking forward to spending time with her friends and tasted delicious foods from the vendors. Her mouth began wandering at the thoughts of homemade sweet dango. Whoever invented dango was her hero.

She supposed she should head over to the grounds and see if there was anything they needed help with. The Hokage had told her just to check to see if assistance was needed and if not, she was off the hook. Sakura kind of hoped that she would be. Today was a nice day to sit outside with a good book. There was a romance novel she had been deeply immerged in and due to her busy schedule, she hadn't been able to continue it.

Sakura stood and began locking up all items that were still out in the lab and quickly exited. She purposely did not go down the floor where the Akatsuki were. Then again, they may not be there anyway. The Hokage had not limited what they are able to do, but she was no idiot. She did have ANBU following them. She could sense that some of them were there in the building. Itachi was and Sakura felt anger build up insider her. She could not _believe _that this murderer of the Uchiha was allowed back in the village. Sakura wondered if that would bring Sasuke back into the village. She was pretty sure it would, but she was feeling weary on how he would respond. Sasuke has made it clear that no one means anything to him. All he cared about was revenge.

"I'm wasting time," Sakura mumbled to herself as she quickly exited the building and made her way over to the grounds.

When she got there, people had already gotten a good jump on everything. The stands were up and running with their owners currently setting up for food. There were games also being set up. The pinkette smiled at the memories from her childhood of going with her friends. Naruto and Kiba always got too competitive when the games. It always ended with Sakura knocking both of them across the back of their heads to stop their bickering. Good times.

Beryl orbs looked around to also see a Ferris wheel being constructed. She squinted and saw Yamato using his wood style to assist a worker with the foundation of it. She walked over to them.

"Hey!" she called waving. "Does anyone need any help?"

The former ANBU member turned to her. He shot her a warm smile and returned her wave. "Hey Sakura! Good to see you!" He looked around at everyone who was bustling around the area. "I think we've got everything under control so far, but thanks for the offer."

"Alright well let me know if you guys end up needing any assistance."

Sakura was about to turn and leave when she heard a familiar voice. That voice always brought a smile to her face, even if he did make her want to strangle him half the time. She turned around to be greeted by her best friend. His blonde hair was in shambles and he was panting. Just what had he been doing? She asked him and he responded by chuckling.

"Me and Kiba were seeing who could set up the stands the fastest and of course I won."

"You guys are such dorks," Sakura said fondly. "Well I'm heading out."

"Just a sec, there was something Granny wanted me to tell you."

Sakura cringed at those words. Why did it seem like she was the only one doing the Hokage's bidding? She supposed she should be honored, but damn it, she was not the only ninja in the village. "What is it?"

"She told me to tell you that you will be escorting the Akatsuki to the festival tonight. She wants you at their quarters at six."

Sakura sighed deeply. "Alright, thanks for telling me." She looked over at her friend and studied his current expression. "What's wrong?"

"Let's go talk about it while I get something to drink."

Sure why not. Something was clearly bothering Naruto and Sakura probably had a good idea of what it was. There was no way Naruto was okay with the Akatsuki living here in the village, especially Itachi. Naruto hated Itachi almost as much as Sasuke did for what he had done so being in close vicinity of him was extremely hard. The two of them began walking down the long path and after a few moments, Naruto made a beeline for a standoff to the right. Sakura trailed behind him and the owner greeted them sweetly.

"Hi, what can I get you?" she asked.

Sakura was surprised at how green this girl's hair was. Then again, she couldn't talk with the shade of natural pink she had. Still it contrasted nicely with her deep blue eyes and the dimples the lined her cheeks when she smiled. For some reason, Sakura had been much more observant when it came to people. Maybe it was because of how descriptive her romance novels had been. True she read them due to her lack of actual relationship and the blatant sex scenes, but still they could open one's mind to different perspectives.

"Can I have a large water please?" Naruto reached into his wallet to pull out money.

The girl held up her hand, signaling for him to stop. "It's okay, water is free."

"Thanks!" Naruto responded as she handed him a jug of water.

After that, the two of them went and sat underneath a tree. Sakura rested her back against the hard wood and waited for her friend to start talking. He had one leg bent at the knee with his elbow resting on top of it. His face had such a troubled look on it before morphing to anger. He slammed a fist down on ground next to him.

"I don't get why Granny is letting those bastards stay here!" he exclaimed. "They are killers and have done missions against the Leaf in the past. Why would she think we can trust them now?!"

Sakura didn't like the idea of them being here anymore than Naruto did. It had been about a week so Sakura had time to think about the situation. She could see where the Hokage was coming from. It took swallowing her pride to realize that the Fire Nation needed as much help as they could get. They were a powerful nation, there was no questioning that, but they were up against all the other nations who were pooling their sources together in order to take back power.

"Naruto, "Sakura began slowly. "Do you trust your Hokage?"

"Well yeah, but…"

"If you trust her, then you'll support her. She doesn't want anything to happen to our village any more than you do. I'm sure it took a lot of thought to make the decisions she did. I don't like them being here, but they are assets that we can use. This way we can also try and prevent the Jinchuriki from dying. I think it's better that they are right here rather than doing what they wish somewhere else. "

Naruto took a sip of his water before locking eyes with his best friend. "I know, but what will Sasuke think?"

So that was the root of what was bothering him. "I have no idea, but we will probably find out eventually."

"Yeah."

After talking with Naruto, Sakura headed back home and grabbed her book. There was a place in the training grounds next to a waterfall that she liked to relax at. Luckily it wasn't going to get very hot today. She held the book tightly to her chest with anticipation of what Akemi was going to do when she found Hirashi with her sister. Oh the drama!

Sakura rolled her eyes, really unbelieving that she found in interest in these kind of books. It was all Ino's fault that she found interest in romance novels. For her birthday a few weeks ago, Ino had bought her an entire collection of romance novels. She had sweetly said it was because Sakura didn't know how to keep a man around so it was to help with her lonely nights. Such a jerk move, but that wasn't surprising coming from Ino.

Sakura reached her destination and was happy to see that she was the only one there. Usually Saturdays was one of the busiest days for the training grounds. Off in the distance, she could hear some sounds of battle, but hopefully they didn't bring it to where she was. The kunoichi laid down in the plush grass underneath the canopy of the trees. She adjusted her red vest before reaching for her book and opening it back to the spot she let off at. It only took a few moments for her to be submerged in the world of her book. She had been reading for possibly twenty minutes when someone's voice interrupted her.

"Is that a good book?"

Sakura jumped, slightly startled. She looked up from her book to see long blonde hair directly over her. A bright blue eye looked at her humorously. Sakura aimed a punch at his face and was upset when he dodged. She wanted nothing more than to bruise that pretty boy face of his.

She sat up angrily. "Why the hell are you leaning over me like some creep?!"

Deidara laughed. "You're the one who didn't notice my presence. Some kunoichi you are, hmm?"

Sakura grit her teeth. "You better leave before I tie you up with your hair."

Instead of heeding her threats, Deidara sat down next to her with a smile. God, this man was so annoying! He was so lucky her leader was stopping her from mopping the floor with him. Sakura stood up. If he wouldn't leave, she would. He was ruining her one afternoon away from work and that was not going to happen.

"Wait a second Pinkie."

What did he just call her? That was it, is face was about to meet her fist. Deidara held up his hands when Sakura began adjusting her glove irritably and stomping towards her. "Hey, hey calm down, yeah. You're so uptight."

"Why the hell are you following me?!" Sakura shouted. "I may have to put up with you, but it doesn't need to be all the damn time!"

Deidara chuckled. "You say that as if I want to be here in your village."

Sakura stopped for a moment. She had been thinking earlier of how the Akatsuki members most likely had different agendas. Why was Deidara with the Akatsuki? She asked him and he snorted, getting to his feet and dusting off his robe.

"We're not close enough to discuss things like that," he said smartly.

"It's not like I'm dying to know," Sakura snapped. "I was just curious. Be a jerk about it then."

Sakura picked up her book that she had precariously thrown to the ground, upset that the spine had been bent a little bit. What was he always the one bugging her? Ever since they arrived, he would find her and tease her to the point of wanting to break his neck. Sakura didn't know what he was after or why he kept coming to her, but it was getting annoying. Sakura turned on her heels and began heading back to her house. Surprisingly, Deidara did not stop her.

The blonde watched the angry female take off and couldn't help but laugh. She was so easily riled up. Maybe she would figure out one day that he just liked to mess with her.

"_You may want to stop teasing her. _**You are aware of her strength, are you not?"**

"Tch," Deidara responded. "So what if she's strong?"

"_Well when she finally gets fed up with your shenanigans, don't be surprised when she beats you to a bloody pulp."_

A smile broke across the Explosionist's face at that thought. He'd face off against that pink haired little fireball. Deidara would be lying if he said he didn't want to see her strength again. She had been on the losing end of that battle he saved her in, but he felt like there was definitely more to her abilities. He could tell by looking at her she was a powerhouse. Her legs and arms were perfectly toned and he could see how precise her chakra control was. It didn't have much to do with art, but it was still pretty interesting. It had been a long time since someone had piqued his interest and he would figure her out.

"**Seems like she's got your attention."**

Deidara turned abruptly to the dual colored man who was standing next to him. "It's none of your business Zetsu."

"_Ooo, hit the nail on the head."_

"Whatever."

Deidara began heading back towards their barracks. He needed to make some more clay to put in his pouch. They were going to that festival tonight to talk with the villagers about what was going on and why they were here. Why not impress the villagers with his art? It was kind of like fireworks.

"**Sakura will be coming to take us to the festival this afternoon at six. Leaders says for you to be on your best behavior."**

Deidara rolled his eyes. "I doubt I'm the one he should be worrying about."

It was soon late afternoon and Sakura was getting ready for the festival with Ino. Sakura was sitting down on Ino's bed, long hair still a bit damp and hooked into a messy bun on the top of her head. She was in her underwear and bra, waiting for Ino to choose what she was going to wear. Apparently, Sakura wasn't very good in the fashion department so it was a good thing she was blessed to have a friend as fashion savvy as Ino. Or at least that's what the bimbo blonde believed.

"Hmm, I think green will nicely complement your eyes," Ino said quietly to herself while throwing items in her closet back precariously. She found what she was looking for and whirled around to face Sakura. "What do you think?"

Sakura blinked owlishly. "You want me to wear a _kimono?" _

"Well why not? It's a festival isn't it?"

That was true. Sakura sighed and stood up. "I guess I could at least try it on."

"That's the spirit!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and began the process of putting on the kimono. It actually was very beautiful. The shiny deep green was a few shades darker than her eyes and had gold trimming and designs on it. Sequins lined the sides and Sakura blushed at how deep the v cut was. If she had been well endowed, her chest would be highly visible to anyone who looked. Of course Ino would wear something like this. The high split that went up the right side also wasn't surprising.

Ino whistled and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Look at you, looking like an actual female for once."

Sakura sucked in her cheeks. "Shut your mouth you idiot."

Ino gave her friend a hard look before moving over to her and yanking the hair tie out of her hair. "Come on Forehead. Let's make your hair look presentable."

After a few minutes, Ino held a mirror to Sakura for her to look at. She was surprised at the vision that looked back at her. Sakura's bangs had been swooped off to the left side her face and clipped back. She had managed to pull her long tresses into a neat bun held together by black hair sticks. Ino had also applied a light layer of blush underneath her cheeks, making her face look less rounded. The eyeliner that enveloped her eyes also made their unique color more visible.

"I look beautiful," Sakura breathed.

"I can make anything beautiful," Ino teased causing Sakura to stick her tongue out at her.

"Well, I better get going," Sakura said, getting up from her spot on the bed. "I have to take the Akatsuki to the festival."

"Wait!" Sakura turned to look at the other female who was quickly putting on her royal purple kimono. She looked back at the pinkette with a wicked smile. "I want to go with you."

Sakura had moved to the door where her socks and sandals were. "Why?"

"I want to meet the Akatsuki if course!"

It took everything in the medic's power not to strangle the little tramp where she stood. Of course she wanted to meet them. She was intrigued by things that were bad for her. She was also nosy so it could just be she was trying to get a scoop on what was going on. One could never tell with this sneaky woman.

Ino could tell by the look on her childhood friend's face that she was not pleased with that answer. After tying her obo, she began braiding her hair into a French braid. "Calm down, you can't have them all to yourself. Besides, they're supposed to be our allies right? Shouldn't I get to know them if not for that reason?"

"You think I don't know?" Sakura accused. "Which one did you see that you thought was cute, hmm?"

"I'm not that shallow!" Ino exclaimed, turning to her dresser mirror to apply a thin layer of lipstick. "I'm just curious, that's all."

Sure she was. Well no point in trying to fight her on it. Ino would find a way to approach her while she was with the Akatsuki anyway. Once Ino was dressed, the two of them made their way to the Hokage tower. When they arrived, the Akatsuki was already standing in the Lobby.

"Good evening Sakura," Konan said gently.

"Good evening," she responded with a smile. "Alright, I'm supposed to escort you all to the festival so let's get going."

"Hey Sakura-chan, who's the hot girl with you?"

Sakura grit her teeth at the sound of Hidan's voice. Ino blushed at the complement and she could see the woman hold her head a little higher. "My name is Ino Yamanaka."

The silver-haired male took a few steps forward, licking his lips and wringing his hands together. "I would love to carve you up."

Ino blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You are so scary Hidan-san!"

Sakura looked at the direction where the voice had come from. She didn't recognize the voice, but when she saw who the voice belonged to, she remembered seeing this person standing in the Hokage's office. She had raised an eyebrow at the orange spiraled mask that was covering his face. He ran up to Ino who in turn pulled a kunai from her kimono and stood in a fighting stance. The man completely ignored that fact and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Tobi is sorry that Hidan-san is so creepy," he said quickly. "He just means that you're very pretty but because of his religion it comes out like he wants to kill you. If he wants to kill, that's good!"

"Get off!" Ino yelled, frantically trying to get the male off.

He let go and waved his hands in the air. "Tobi is sorry. Tobi was just trying to explain wh-"

"Shut up, un!"

"Ow!"

The male quickly ran behind that plant ninja after Deidara hit him hard over the top of his head. He whimpered quietly behind the much larger male. Sakura tried so hard not to laugh. Were these guys serious? It was like a comedy show watching them. She had no idea they could be so…human. Pushing that thought away, she turned away and motioned for the group to follow her.

When they arrived, the festival was in full swing. The sounds of music filled the air, children were laughing and playing, and families enjoyed the attractions. As Sakura and her party walked through the festival, there was a hush over the crowd. Children were quickly grabbed by their parents and pulled to safety.

Sakura couldn't blame them. It would take a while for the village to grow used to the idea…if they ever did. The future of the Fire Nation depended on the support of their village. The last thing they needed was their people revolting against them. She was starting to realize just how bad this situation could go.

A little girl was running towards them. She was looking behind her laughing an older female tried to catch up.

"Akoi!"

"You can't catch me!" she shouted playfully moments before she slammed directly into Pein.

The child looked up from her spot on the ground into the face of the heavily pierced man. His expression did not change as he stared back at the child. The little girl shrank back in fear as the other little girl came up behind her and held her close. This was going to get really bad really quick if Sakura didn't do something. Just as she was about to step forward, Konan moved ahead of her. She bent down so she was eye to eye with the little girl. She held her hand out and suddenly paper began to collect in her hand and fold. The child watched with interest and when Konan was finished, she held the paper rose out to the little girl.

"For you," she said while smiling at the girl.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed while standing to her feet. She looked over her shoulder at Konan. "You're really nice lady."

"Wow, that was very sweet," Ino said when the little girl was out of sight.

"Sometimes a hint of kindness if all someone needs," she answered. "Now, let's partake in the festivities."

**So now we have to see what happens when the Hokage speaks with her people. I won't dwell on it a lot, but we'll know what happens. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you kkstev, redrose3443, KagomeAngel91, and Onileo for reviewing!**

* * *

Sakura was surprised at how the Akatsuki acted around the other villagers. Hidan didn't seem to know how to behave himself and was hitting on some of the women in the village. Of course, he ended up hitting on a kunoichi, Anko to be exact, who ended up wrapping her snakes around his neck and tossing him through a couple of trees. That made Tobi and Deidara laugh while Hidan's partner Kakuzu called him an idiot.

It also became clear that Pein liked sweet dango. Konan clearly knew that because she smiled at him when he asked if there were any stands out that night. Zetsu seemed like he felt completely out of place. Sakura was sure he'd much rather be watching from the shadows than actually being involved in the festivities. Tobi seemed to be very good with the kids. His clumsy and silly antics made the little ones laugh. Like when he had attempted to play one of the games where you throw darts at balloons for prizes. He had wound up to throw a dart, but when he reached back, he tossed the dart backwards, almost hitting Itachi in the process.

Speaking of the older Uchiha, Sakura had really kept a close eye on him. What was it like being back in his old village again? She hoped that he could see the ghosts of his family that he killed. She really did think that eventually he would return to the Uchiha barracks. What could that possibly be like? Would he hear the screams of the people as they attempted to run from him? Would he see the eyes of the children whose lives he took? That sounded awful to Sakura, but maybe he deserved some haunting after what he had done.

Kisame also seemed to love the food at the festival, especially the smoked fish that one vender had. He bought four pieces and devoured them in almost a minute flat. He then licked his fingers and continued on about how tasty it was. It didn't take long for everyone to realize that the Akatsuki was there and soon there were a lot of booing and angry comments being shouted at them. Of course Sakura didn't think that the Akatsuki should be living with them, but she trusted what Lady Tsunade had done.

Sakura ushered the Akatsuki up onto the podium that had been created for this moment. The elders and Lady Tsunade were already standing up there. When the rogue ninjas took their stance behind the Hokage, the crowd continued to boo and throw items. One of the stray soda cans hit Lady Tsunade in the stomach. The crowd immediately went silent as her face changed to anger.

"You all better not throw anything else!"she roared. "Now listen. I understand that many of you do not agree with my decision to hire the Akatsuki. Some of you didn't even know why this was done. "

Tsunade stepped down from the podium and into the crowd. "We are at war! The other nations have already been attacking some of our ninja in hopes of eventually taking down the Village Hidden in the Leaves! They want to demolish this village and spread power amongst themselves."

This immediately had the crowd starting to the attitude they had. Some began to panic and the crowd began asking questions all at the same time. Suddenly Pein came forward.

"I understand your fears," he began. "But fear is the start of peace. Blood shed leads the way to peace. Violence is inevitable for the sake of peace. Your Hokage understands that people do hire us and brought us here not only so we can help you with this war, but so the other nations do not try to gain our assistance."

"But you guys are criminals!" someone shouted.

"And you've brought that murderer Itachi here!" another person yelled.

"Understand that you do not always know the actual reason why something was done," Itachi stated.

"That's right!" Tobi stated, throwing his arms in the air. "Tobi knows we all are bad guys, but we aren't really bad guys! Except Hidan-san because he-"

Deidara gave the man a stony look. "Shut up Tobi."

Tobi immediately went quiet and hung his head. The Elders to this as their moment to speak. Homura stood next to the Hokage. "Please understand that this was not an easy decision. It took a lot of contemplating, weighing the pros and cons, and discussion to come to a conclusion. Another plus is that our Jinchuriki Naruto and Gaara will be safe from having their Tailed Beasts taken."

"For now," Konan clarified. "We will collect the others, but only at a schedule of every two months. Your brightest ninja are currently working on a way to separate the tailed beasts from their holders without killing the holder."

The crowd began to boo once more and Kisame let out a deep rumbling laugh. "Don't you think it's about time someone came up with a way to separate the Jinchuriki without killing them? You do like the Jinchuriki and wouldn't want them to die right?"

Those words got the crowd to calm a little bit. There was still murmuring about how this was a bad idea, but it seemed like the village would go with it for now. Naruto suddentl got up on the stage. Everyone's eyes moved over the male as he gazed back at them with a solid look.

"I don't like this just like many of you don't," he began. "But I know Granny wouldn't put us in a situation that would harm us and if it did turn out that way, you better believe she will handle it. It took a friend setting me straight to remember that Granny has always taken care of us and she always will. So stand behind your Hokage! Trust her decision and let's fight to keep our people safe!"

The villagers immediately began to clap and cheer after his strong words. Sakura felt a smile cross her face. She hadn't realized just how much her best friend had grown up. Normally he would have continued to fight the decision, but he looked at it from the Hokage's point of view and was able to see where she was coming from. He was on the right path to being the village's next Hokage.

The rest of the night went a little more smoothly and some of the villagers even came up to talk with the Akatsuki. It was more so the ninjas that were doing it, but still, it was a start.

The next morning, Sakura headed to the Hokage's office. She had been summoned and decided this was a good time to ask about someone who could possibly make the item they would need to try and separate the chakra. This morning was nice, but very cloudy, indicating that it would most likely rain. That sounded perfect to Sakura. There was a little coffee shop that had an overhang she could relax at. Coffee sounded like a great idea with how the woman felt like she was barely able to put one foot in front of the other.

Finally getting to the Hokage's office, Sakura knocked and entered when she heard the command. "Good morning Lady Tsunade."

"Good morning to you," she answered. "I will need you to go on a mission."

Sakura turned her head and noticed that Kisame and Itachi were in the office as well. That made her heart speed up a little in her chest. "What mission?"

The Hokage picked up a scroll and handed it to Sakura. "We believe the Land of Sound may be planning a small infiltration of the Leaf. As you know, Orochimaru still is over the village, but we don't know who's side he is on in this war. We also don't know if he is aware of these rumors. I want you three to infiltrate the Sound and find out if there are plans to attack us so we can plan accordingly."

Sakura still was staring at Itachi and Kisame. "Are they going too?"

Tsunade ran her hands through her bangs in annoyance. "Who would be the other two if not them? There are only you three in here! I'm trusting you Sakura to handle this."

Sakura tried to hide the look of surprise on her face and responded. "Yes ma'am. When do we leave?"

"Tonight."

"Don't seem so frightened," Kisame joked, giving her a tooth grin. "I don't bite...usually."

Was he _flirting _with her? No, he must be trying to get under her skin a little bit. Well two could play that game. "Well I do bite so be careful," Sakura responded with a smile.

"Feisty," the blue man said with a chuckle.

"You are all dismissed," the Hokage stated, reaching for a huge stack of papers. "Meet at the gates at 2200 hours tonight."

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura started, taking a step closer to her desk. "I need to discuss something with you concerning the Jinchuriki research."

The two Akatsuki members left and when the door closed behind them, the older woman asked, "What is it?"

Sakura went on to explain the findings about how the tailed beast and holder's chakra seemed to mix, but on a smaller scale, they were really just rotating around each other. She asked about finding someone who could possibly make a creation that would be able to do this.

The Hokage gave her a stony look and knitted her fingers together. "Can you handle this or not Sakura?"

"I can, I just need the resources."

"Well I do not have the time to go searching for someone to be able to make this creation for you. You and Shizune will have to figure it out on your own, but just tell anyone you find that it is my order that they assist. If they refuse, you let me know and I will handle it."

Sakura knew at that moment the conversation was over. "Yes ma'am."

Sakura exited and headed towards the building the Akatsuki were located in. Shizune was probably already hard at work with trying to figure out a way to separate the chakra without hurting the holder. When something was presented to the dark haired woman, she did everything in her power to take care of it. That was something Sakura deeply admired about Shizune.

As she walked, a roll of thunder was heard and it excited her. The kunoichi absolutely loved thunderstorms and hoped by the time she left the lab, it would be pouring rain. Hopefully it continued raining while they were completing their mission because rain helped with stealth and infiltration.

When the pinkette began walking through the silent hallway of Akatsuki rooms, she heard a door open. Her breath caught in her throat and she wondered if it was Deidara. Why she cared if it was him or not, she didn't understand. He was such an annoyance and Sakura knew he did it just to piss her off. One of these days he was going to mess with her and get a fist to the face. She felt a little disappointment when she saw Konan exit.

The woman turned her orange orbs on Sakura and gave her a small smile. "Hello Sakura."

"Good morning Konan. How are you?"

"Who knows," she answered. "Sakura, can you tell me where a good place to get sweet dango in town is? Pein really likes the dango here."

It was kind of funny that the leader of the Akatsuki had a sweet tooth. It kind of made him seem more...human. That wasn't a thought Sakura had before concerning the rogue ninja. She had thought of them all as evil monsters with people like Itachi roaming with them. However; other than Hidan's ridiculously sexual attitude, she hadn't had any problems with them so far. Still, that didn't mean she should let her guard down so soon.

"There is one in the center of town," Sakura answered. "I can show you if you want."

"He's okay for now," Konan responded. "He bought enough to last him a few days. I also am aware you will be preparing for a mission so maybe when you come back."

"Sure thing."

Konan took a few steps towards Sakura and looked over her quietly. A hand reached up and gently twirled pink strands around her finger. "You're a very sweet girl Sakura-chan."

_Sakura-chan?_

The other woman then made her exit into another room. The Leaf kunoichi assumed it had to be Pein's room. What was that just now? She made plans with Konan as if they were friends. Sakura wasn't sure what to think. She gradually knew that she would have to trust the Akatsuki, but she didn't expect to already be getting to know them. Maybe that was for the best so she could get a better understanding of them.

Making her way up the stairs, Sakura soon entered the laboratory. She might as well attempt to try and separate the chakra without the use of any assistance from equipment and see how it went. That would be the baseline how how exactly the machine needed to work. Sakura didn't really have an idea of who to ask to make this. Shikamaru was smart, but he was more strategically smart, not an inventor. Maybe there was someone in the research division that could help them out.

After two hours of attempting to separate the chakra, Sakura had to call in the towel. It seemed like the chakra had polarization that kept them together. The chakra pulled towards each other when you tried to separate it, like a magnet. That made trying to pull them apart much more difficult and if she pulled too hard, one of the two chakra ripped, a piece still attached to the other.

They had a lot of time before the first Jinchuriki, the Four Tails would be taken. The Akatsuki already had the Two and Three Tails. Still, there was no time to get comfortable. Shizune would go over to the research division while she was gone and discuss the issue with them to see if there was anything they could do to help.

As she exited the building, a huge smile broke over Sakura's face. The sky was extremely dark, the wind had picked up significantly, and lightning was forking the sky. Thunder rolled heavily in the distance and large drops were starting to hit the ground. She stood out in the rain as it got heavier, lifting her face to the sky. Her long hair was quickly drenched as were her clothes, but she still stood in the sheet of rain. A deep breath escaped her. Standing in the rain made her feel like she was being cleansed. Not in a physical way, but in a mental and spiritual way. All her of anxiety about the Jinchuriki and Akatsuki was starting to melt away. It was replaced with a calm feeling.

"Oh no! Sakura-chan is all wet!"

She turned to see Tobi standing next to her. He quickly grabbed her hand and started pulling her. "Tobi will take you to shelter!"

"Wait!"

The masked man continued to pull her hand until they were surprisingly standing under the hang over of the coffee shop she planned on going to. That was a coincidence. Still, he had ruined her meditation.

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm sorry!" Tobi said quickly. "It's just that Sakura-chan was starting to shiver so Tobi didn't want you to get sick!"

He did have a point. Goosebumps covered her skin and her teeth were starting to chatter. Maybe it was time to have that coffee more so to warm her up than wake her up. The shop owner smiled when Sakura looked over at her and began making her favorite coffee.

"Looks like you got caught in the down pour," he joked. His eyes turned to Tobi and he frowned. "Is that one of the Akatsuki members?"

For some reason, it didn't sit well with Sakura how the man was looking at Tobi. He must be one of the people who didn't agree with them being here. That was fine, but there would be no discrimination. That was the Hokage's wish.

"He is one of our allies," Sakura said curtly. "Tobi, would you like to get something warm to drink?"

"Oh yes!" he exclaimed, beginning to dance from one foot to the other. "Tobi loves hot chocolate! Can I have hot chocolate?!"

"Well," Sakura began. "Can he have hot chocolate?"

The store owner was quiet for a moment, but then smiled and said. "Sure, why not. We have the best hot chocolate in town."

Sakura was about to pull out her wallet, which she hoped wasn't completely soaked, but Tobi had already moved over to the counter and placed money on it. "This is enough for both of us right?"

The owner's eyes widened. "That's four times as much as you need!"

Tobi scratched his head. "So it isn't enough?"

"It's too much! Let me get you change!"

Tobi shook his head vigorously. "How about Tobi just get two hot chocolates and you keep the rest? Tobi loves hot chocolate!"

"Thank you so much," the store owner said bowing. "I greatly appreciate it."

Sakura smiled. It was amazing how quickly the store owner changed his behavior towards Tobi. She was a little confused on how someone as sweet as Tobi was an Akatsuki member. He had to be really strong or maybe this personality was just a front. She was wary of this guy, and what was underneath his mask? Was he burned or something. Maybe he was very handsome. Sakura frowned at her thoughts. First Deidara and now she was wondering about Tobi? She needed to get a grip.

Soon the three mugs were brought out to them, steaming and ready to warm their frozen bodies. Sakura's long hair had started to tangle, something she hated about it. She tried for a moment to de-tangle it with her fingers while waiting on her coffee to cool down. The french vanilla creamer was so delicious and sweet so she wanted to make sure she was actually able to taste it.

Tobi reached for his mug and turned his back while lifting his mask at the same time. Sakura knew this wasn't going to end well. "Tobi it's too ho-"

Her sentence was cut off when he let out a yelp, jumped and ended up spilling part of the hot chocolate down his Akatsuki robe. "Ow! It's so hot! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Sakura couldn't help but giggle when he began jumping around. She stood and went to the counter for napkins and returned with them. Tobi was fanning his face, which was covered with his mask. She burst out into full laughter while handing the napkins to Tobi.

"You're such an idiot," she said with a smile.

Tobi took his seat next to her again, wrapping his gloved hands around the mug that had spilled. "I'll be more careful next time. Hey Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm?" she questioned while blowing on her coffee.

"The Akatsuki doesn't want to cause trouble for your village," he said, while swirling a straw in his cup. "Leader-san just wants peace, but he's doing it in his own way."

"I know Tobi."

The two of them continued to chat a little while drinking their drinks. Eventually, Sakura headed home in order to dry off and have something to eat. Once she reached her apartment, Sakura went to her room and shed of her clothes. She moved like lightning to get dry clothes and high tailed it to the shower. It sucked that she had left the air on all day. She started the shower and wrapped her hands around her body to try and keep her warm. Reaching into the flowing stream, Sakura was relieved to see that the water was warm enough to get into.

She sighed with content as her body slowly began to get comfortable in the steaming water. Today's events really puzzled her. How would Naruto feel if he knew about ? It hadn't been on purpose, she didn't seek the Akatsuki out, but she also didn't stop them from talking to her or spending time with her. Was this really a good idea?

"No point in fretting over it," Sakura said to herself while reaching for shampoo.

Sakura heard a heavy knock at her door. Who the hell would be bugging her right now? Well she was in the shower so she was not cutting it short to go answer the door. Whoever it was knocked again and she realized when the door was opened that it had to be Ino. She was the only one with a key to her apartment.

The bathroom door opened and Sakura could see her silhouette through the curtain. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to talk," Ino said, taking a seat on the toilet.

"Can't you wait until I'm done?!" Sakura snapped, peeking her head around the shower curtain.

Ino laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I suppose. Are you hungry?" Sakura stomach growled in response. "I swear Sakura, if I didn't make sure you ate, you wouldn't."

Once Sakura was finished, she joined Ino in the kitchen. Ino turned to her and frowned. "You really should consider having something other than instant dinners and ramen in your cabinets."

"Oh shut up," Sakura muttered. "So what is it?"

Ino placed the instant ramen into boiling water and came to sit across the table from Sakura. There was seriousness in her deep blue orbs, something Sakura wasn't used to.

"Are you okay with the Akatsuki being here?" Ino questioned.

Ah, it was this conversation again. It wasn't surprising. Most likely everyone was discussing their feelings about it now that the Hokage had fully explained what is going on with the war.

"I trust the Hokage," Sakura answered simply.

"But how do you personally feel about it?"

Sakura rubbed her eyes. "Well, I don't like it, but I understand why it is being done. We will be much stronger with their assistance."

Ino looked away. "I was super interested in meeting them and after seeing how they interact with the villagers, I feel like this was a good idea. I completely support the Hokage."

Sakura smiled. "That's good."

Ino stood up and went back over to the stove. It was clear she wanted to talk more about the subject, but there really wasn't more to be said. As long as they trusted the Hokage, everything would be okay. The blonde brought the steaming bowls of ramen over and Sakura's stomach nearly tied itself in knots. How long had it been since breakfast?

"The ones I've interacted with aren't that bad at all," Sakura said. "Other than Hidan, but you understand why."

Ino put her fingers to her temples. "Yeah that guy is such a fucking jerk!"

"Tell me about it."

Ino looked at Sakura for a moment a smiled. "There's something you're not telling me."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Might as well tell Gossip Queen what happened today. As she went into the stories, Ino's eyes brightened and she clapped her hands together. "I would love to hang out with Konan! She's so beautiful. I have to know how she keeps her skin so clear!"

Sakura scratched her head. "I don't really think she does beauty regiments like you do."

"You never know," Ino responded, digging into her ramen.

The hours moved by quickly and soon Sakura was all packed to go on her mission. She usually wasn't nervous about anything, but she really wasn't sure what to expect around the Akatsuki. She had a way to contact the village if the Akatsuki did turn on her, but she really didn't want that to happen. Taking a moment to calm her nerves, Sakura took a deep breath and locked up her apartment.

The rain had stopped, but large puddles hand formed throughout the roads. Sakura carefully maneuvered herself around them and made her way to the gate. When she arrived, no one was there yet, but she was fifteen minutes early. Sakura reached up and held the straps of her pack while waiting for Itachi and Kisame to make their entrance.

"Hey there Pinkie!"

She frowned. "What did you call me?"

Kisame and Itachi made their way towards her. The shark nin still had that grin on his face. "What, you don't like it? I think it fits."

Green eyes rolled in annoyance. "Let's get going."

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**You know it's funny. I have been trying to write a little short story for one of my others and I've been trying all week but I sat down to write this and was able to do it in a few hours lol. I guess I prefer this one over my other stories haha! Let me know what you guys think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you InsaneMudkip, leafstone, DiizGiirlJess, koryandrs, and KagomaAngel91 for reviewing!**

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The three ninjas silently made their way through the darkened forest. Sakura moved chakra to her eyes to better enhance her night time vision. It was a good thing she did because a lot of branches had broken off some of the trees during the storm and it would have been quit embarrassing to tumble out of the trees in such an un-lady like fashion. Her gaze snuck over to Itachi, who was on her right. He gazed straight ahead, bright Sharingan eyes seeming to light up in the darkness. They were such a bright red, like nothing she had ever seen before. They seemed even brighter than Sasuke's the times she had seen him use it.

Sakura wondered if Itachi was thinking about his brother. He clearly didn't care for him if he killed their entire clan in front of him and then issued him a challenge to the death. Still, what exactly went through his mind? He was usually quiet, but when spoken to, could be very opinionated. Someone like him didn't deserve to even be alive let alone have an opinion. Sakura found herself frowning deeply. Why couldn't one of the other Akatsuki member's come on this mission? She wanted to be as far away from the Uchiha traitor as possible.

"What are you staring at Sakura?"

She was pulled from her thoughts and realized that Itachi was boring into her with those powerful orbs of his. She immediately turned her gaze away. "Nothing."

"You are aware that I do not have to look into your eyes to put you in genjutsu correct?"

The pinkette's frown deepened. "Is that a threat? Because last time I checked, we were supposed to be on the same team here."

Itachi turned his gaze forward while leaping gracefully into the next tree in front of him. "It is a fact. There is no point in hiding your gaze from me so do not be afraid to look me in the eye. As you said, we are comrades for now."

Sakura rolled her eyes. He was kind of condescending when he spoke to her and that irked her nerves. Ignoring his last words, Sakura moved forward at a faster pace to keep from being right next to Itachi.

"Annoyed already Pinkie?"

Sakura turned to see Kisame on her right side smiling at her. His blue skin had taken on a brighter hue due to the moonlight caressing his it. His sharp fangs seemed to glitter in the dark.

"A little," she said honestly. "How far do you guys want to travel before setting up camp for the night?"

Kisame brought a hand to his chin. "Well we have been traveling for three hours now. How about two more...if you can handle it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Of course I can handle it. What ninja can't run for only five hours?"

"You tell me," he teased. "In fact, there is a spring just over two hours away from here and an hour away from the Sound Village. Want to race that last leg of it? Say last mile?"

Sakura felt a smile creeping over her face. This guy had no idea just how competitive she could be. Did he also forget that she had precise chakra control that could make her speed incredible? Still, there was that rumor that Kisame was like a Jinchuriki without the Tailed Beast, but that didn't mean she couldn't give it all she had in order to beat him. That would make it much easier to sleep that night.

"Sure, you're on."

Kisame turned to look at Itachi, who was watching the two of them as if amused. "You want in on this? You're not allowed to use the Sharingan to put us in genjutsu."

"I have no interest in participating in your game," Itachi said bluntly.

"Rude," said stated while turning her nose up. "Kisame and I will have all the fun then. I think he just is scared he'll lose."

"If you think you can goad me into playing by taunting me, you're sorely mistaken."

Kisame laughed heartily. "Worth a shot."

As they continued to travel, Sakura felt adrenaline rushing through her body. She was coiled on the inside, ready to take off at any moment. The medic ended up having to stop her adrenaline from flowing so she would be ready for this race. If Kisame thought he wasn't going to have a challenge, he had another thing coming. Sakura was very fast because of her chakra control and he was going to see just how fast in just a little bit.

Kisame looked over at her and gave her that shark like grin. "You look excited. That will make this all the more fun."

"Is that confidence I hear?" Sakura questioned, returning his smile.

"We'll see," Kisame responded, turning is gaze back towards the path they were taking. "Let's start at that tree right there."

Kisame pointed at a large crooked tree that was about 500 yards in front of them. Sakura felt anticipation building in her gut again. Her heart was racing and she could feel her body shaking with adrenaline once more. Her green orbs focused on the path ahead of her, already calculating which route through the trees would be the fastest. The moon had hidden behind the clouds for the last few hours, but now it was starting to peek from behind them, almost as if it too were ready to see this race. Pale light moved slowly over the branches until finally…

"_Go!" _Kisame shouted. The two ninja took off like lightning, leaving Itachi far behind within seconds. Sakura pumped chakra fiercely into her legs and moved them as fast as she possibly could, dodging her way around the forest. Right now, they were neck in neck with only half a mile left. The two of them were moving so fast, they covered half a mile in less than a minute. Sakura tried her best not to look over at Kisame to see if he was starting to get ahead of her. That would cause her to lose focus and with her luck, she'd probably trip and go head first into the trunk of a tree. She tried looking through her peripheral vision a few times, but they were running at too high a speed for her to see anything other than a blur.

_I'll just have to pick up the pace._

Sakura pushed chakra harder, ignored the burning that was erupting through her thighs. She was almost there; the river was now in view and all she had to do was make it to the river's edge.

"Hey Sakura!"

She turned to look at Kisame, who in turn took off faster than she had ever expected. That cheater! He distracted her so he could get the upper hand. She was going to let him have it…at soon as she caught her breath. Sakura doubled over in front of the water and looked up at Kisame angrily who aga who in turn took off faster than she had ever expected. That cheater! He distracted her so he could get the upper hand. She was going to let him have it…at soon as she caught her breath. Sakura doubled over in front of the water and looked up at Kisame angrily who again was giving her that now stupid smirk while holding his sword Samehada's hilt.

"So the only way you could win was by cheating?!"

"I didn't force you to look over. You did that on your own free will Pinkie."

Itachi soon joined them and Sakura was surprised he had caught up so fast. "You lost," he said matter-of-factly.

"Shut up," Sakura muttered. Finally able to breathe somewhat normally, the medic stood straight and looked around at their surroundings. "We should set up camp."

The trio began unpacking their sleeping bags. Kisame dove into the water, catching fish and tossing them onto the bank. Sakura was surprised at how quickly he caught nine of them. It was less than five minutes. Sakura guessed that he must be very good at anything concerning water because he was extremely shark like. She didn't know that he had actual _gills _on his shoulders.

"Can you breathe underwater?" Sakura questioned, placing the wood she had gathered into a pile for the fire.

"I can," Kisame answered while jumping out of the water and pulling a towel from his pack to dry himself with. "Makes it very easy to hunt my prey."

"Prey?" Sakura questioned.

"Anyone who I am targeting," Kisame clarified. "Of course I am just as good a hunter on land as well."

Sakura rolled her eyes. This guy was so cocky and confident about himself. At least he wasn't conceited though. The blue nin was known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist so he must be powerful. She had heard about the run in that he had with Guy and his team many years ago and that it was a very intense battle. The pinkette was actually curious to see him fight at full strength.

After the fish had been cleaned, they were soon roasting on the fire. Sakura's stomach growled in response to the smoky scent that was wafting in her direction. It had been quite a few hours since she had her measly dinner of ramen with Ino and after that race with Kisame, her body needed to be replenished. She had already made sure to drink plenty of water to help bring her fluids back up.

"We need to discuss our strategy," Itachi stated, sitting down cross legged in front of the fire.

"So basically we need to see if someone is planning an infiltration," Sakura began, pulling out a map of the Sound Village. "Do we have any possible suspects who could lead an infiltration?"

"I think the first question is if Orochimaru is around," Kisame said while taking a bite out of his fish. "I think he would be the bigger problem."

"Orochimaru is not here," Itachi stated.

"How do you know?" Sakura questioned.

Itachi's gaze turned to her. "I would be able to sense is chakra if he were."

"How do you know that he isn't just masking it?" Sakura asked.

"I've been involved with him long enough to know when he is nearby," Itachi answered.

"Well, I still think we should take necessary precautions," Sakura responded. "I think we should use transformation jutsus to-"

She was interrupted by Kisame's laughter. "Why the hell would I hide who I am? There is no one in this dinky town that could kill me or Itachi. Not even Orochimaru."

Sakura hadn't thought about that. When the Akatsuki went to do business anywhere, they _never _hid their identity. It was probably so the villages would start to know who they were and possibly come to them for assistance in whatever they needed. But what if the villagers started an uproar about them being there? Sakura voiced this question and Itachi responded with a simple answer.

"We will stop anyone who tries to oppose us."

Sakura gave them both hard looks. "Do not kill anyone. We aren't looking for a reason for people to come after our Village"

Kisame ran a hand through his hair. "Since we've been ordered to follow your instructions by Pein, I suppose I can go without enjoying a few kills."

Sakura was starting to realize she really was among criminals. Kisame clearly was a monster and so was his partner. Still, they seemed very loyal so Sakura was sure that they wouldn't go back on their word. They continued to discuss the plans for tomorrow and eventually laid down to go to sleep. Sakura's mind was churning at the thought of sleeping next to Akatsuki members, but she breathed deeply to calm herself. Her Hokage would not have sent her on this mission if she feared the Akatsuki would not hold to their word. Sakura held on to that thought has she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, she woke to Itachi standing over her. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I was about to wake you up so we can get going," The Uchiha responded, straightening his posture and returning to where his things were. "You woke up before I could do so."

Sakura muttered under her breath about Itachi being a creep and sat up. She stretched, enjoying the feeling of her lower back popping soundly. The female yawned, untangled herself from her sleeping bag, and grabbed her pack. She moved over to the river bank and knelt down, splashing cool water on her face to help wake her up. After brushing her teeth to rid herself of awful morning breath, Sakura brushed her hair and turned to look at the two Akatsuki members.

"Alright," Sakura stated, placing her black pack on her shoulders. "Let's head into town."

It only took ten minutes for them to see the entryway to the city. Unlike Konoha, there were no large gates or gate guards checking to see who was coming into town. That was surprising especially when the Sound Village had been up to no good previously. Sakura scoffed at how cocky that seemed to her. Making sure to keep her senses alert, green orbs took in the surroundings that was bathed in the early mirninf sun's rays. It had not completely risen yet, causing a beautiful hue to cover the surroundings.

All kinds of noises were surrounding them: the crickets chirping, birds singing. The only thing was that they actually were making _music_. Now she could see why it was called the Sound Village. It was actually amazing to listen to the songs nature was playing as they made their way into the village. Soon they were walking past numerous buildings. Sakura gazed up at them and was surprised at how tall they were since the Sound was supposedly a small village. There were vendors underneath covered areas and when they saw the three of them headed in their direction, they immediately began whispering and ducking away.

Kisame moved over to a vendor who was selling fresh fruits. "Hey there," he said, placing his hands on the wooden stand. "Want to tell me if Orochimaru is in town?"

The vendor moved closer to the building wall behind him. "I don't know if Orochimaru-sama is here."

Kisame was on the man like lightning, gripping his shirt tightly. "Then who would know?"

The man's eyes went wild. "Tengumi would know! He is the adviser who's in charge when Orochimaru is not here!"

"Where would we find him?" Itachi questioned, moving next to his partner.

The man pointed a shaky finger towards the north at a large brick building about a mile away. "He's probably there!"

"Thank you for your cooperation," Sakura stated. "Let's go."

They quickly made their way towards the building the vendor had pointed out. Sakura really did not like the conspicuous way the two Akatsuki members handled things. She felt like they were more prone to attack than if they had treated this like the infiltration mission this was supposed to be. There was just something in her gut that was bothering her about the whole situation. It wasn't like she hadn't used this kind of approach on previous missions, but it usually wasn't concerning a possible attack on her village. Clearly if they were planning an attack, they were against the Leaf Village. Wouldn't a smart village attempt to eradicate ninjas from that village to bring down the threat level for the attack?

Sakura was about to voice this thought when they reached the double doors. They were thrown open when they were a few feet away. Several men were piled out of the open doors, many pulling out kunai and shuriken. The female ninja did the same, holding her fighting stance and looking over her opponents. Itachi and Kisame did not make any sudden movements.

Kisame started laughing. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived! Do you really want to take on two Akatsuki members and the Hokage's prodigy? Sounds counterproductive doesn't it?"

Kisame placed his hand on Samehada's hilt to show he was not playing around. The Sound ninjas lowered their stance, not responding to what Kisame said. Suddenly they moved aside and knelt. A tall man began heading down the stairs, his long curly hair billowing in the gentle morning breeze. He gave the intruders a smile, deep blue orbs sparkling with what Sakura was sure had to be mischief.

The male lowered his head and bowed. "Welcome to our humble village. What can we do for you?"

"Are you Tengumi?" Sakura questioned while putting her weapons away.

"My reputation precedes me," he responded with a smile. "Yes, I am Tengumi Sato, adviser of the Sound."

"We have a few things to discuss with you Mr. Adviser," Kisame stated.

"Yes of course." Tengumi turned and motioned for Kisame, Sakura, and Itachi to follow. "Let's discuss any issues over breakfast. Our chefs just made quite a feast!"

Kisame began following and so did Itachi, but Sakura grabbed his Akatsuki robe. He turned his red orbs on her. "Something doesn't seem right," Sakura whispered to him. "He's too calm and understanding."

"That just means you need to stay on your guard Sakura," he answered plainly. "Keep your senses sharp and watch for possible danger."

Sakura took a deep breath and calmed her beating heart. Itachi was right. She was a very good ninja and she didn't think that going inside would get them killed. She had high confidence in their abilities separately let alone together. She had to trust that Kisame and Itachi would also stay on their toes.

The pinkette followed the rest inside, making sure her weapons were easily accessible if need be. The inside was absolutely breath-taking. Crystal lined the roof and when the sun hit it, it changed to different hues of yellow, red, blue, and purple. Not only that, but with each change of color, a relaxing melody floated down to their ears. The carpet was black with grey markings on the sides that were next to the stone walls. Green plants aligned the hallways and they moved in sync with the music. That was something Sakura had never seen in her life before.

Soon they were moving into what looked like a large dining area. The ninjas stood off to the side while Tengumi sat at the head of the long table. "Please have a seat. The chefs will begin serving momentarily."

Sakura made sure to sit between Itachi and Kisame on the right side of the table. Kisame leaned his large sword on his shoulder and looked over at Tengumi. "We are here because of rumors that the Sound Village is planning an infiltration on the Leaf Village. We want to know what for, if Orochimaru knows about this, and when this is supposed to happen."

Tengumi's eyes widened. "For what reason would we need to attack the Leaf? We are in contract with them and get our weapons shipped in from them. Without the Leaf, we wouldn't have the capable ninja we have now."

"So you're saying that the Sound isn't planning an attack?" Sakura questioned while folding her hand together and placing her elbows on the table.

"Of course not," Tengumi scoffed. "Who exactly is spreading these awful rumors?"

"That is of no importance," Itachi stated. "Do you know if anyone in the Sound who possibly has a grudge on the Leaf as well as influence over people?"

"You don't believe me when I say that we aren't planning an attack?" A door behind Tengumi swung open and chefs wheeled out steaming plates of food on carts. "Ah! Breakfast is here!"

Ä man walked behind Sakura and asked her what she wanted. She declined any breakfast. She was trying to remain diligent and what if they had put something in the food? That would be a bad start to this mission. She was one hundred percent sure that Tengumi was lying and she was about to call him on it.

"No, we do not believe you," Sakura stated bluntly. "When asked if there were plans to attack the village, your eyes lost eye contact, you began fiddling with a strand of your hair, and your voice cracked a little when answering. These are all signs of someone who is lying so..." Sakura moved chakra into her fist. "Why don't you start honestly with us?"

Suddenly, Sakura felt a sharp pinch in her neck. She reached up to feel a needle sticking out of it. Immediately, she began to lose control of her body. She couldn't move anything and her body slumped over the table. Her eyes looked over to her left just as Kisame and Itachi stood to their feet. A ninja was quickly performing hand signs and suddenly, her world went black.

Kisame picked up Samehada in a flash and launched himself towards Tengumi. He slashed downwards, connecting Samehada with the side of the male's neck. A puff of smoke emitted and a log was left in place of Tengumi.

"Substitution Jutsu," Kisame muttered. "You guys really want to die today, don't you?"

"Remember we cannot kill them," Itachi reminded his partner. "However, we can bring them to the brink o-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto""Remember we cannot kill them," Itachi reminded his partner. "However, we can bring them to the brink of death." Itachi turned his gaze to the ninjas that was preparing to attack them. "Amaterasu."

They were immediately engulfed in the black flames of Amaterasu and began screaming in agony while attempting to put out the flames. "Where is your leader?"

"We will never tell you anything!" one ninja shouted while trying to remove his clothes that were lit with the ebony fire. "We will always stay faithful to-"

He was cut off by Samehada removing his head. Kisame chuckled. "Hopefully the Hokage won't get too pissed about one causality based on the situation."

Itachi stopped Amaterasu and moved over to the closest Sound ninja. He picked him up by his hair and brought his knee soundly into his stomach. The ninja coughed hard and let out a grown.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," Itachi began. "Where is your leader?"

"If I told you, he would kill me!"

"If you don't tell me, you will die a horrible death," was Itachi's response. He suddenly looked up. "Did you sense that?"

Kisame smiled. "I sure did. Seems like we have someone trying to spy on us."

The two Akatsuki members moved out of the room and quickly followed the chakra that was trying to move desperately away. There was no way Kisame and Itachi wouldn't catch them.

* * *

Sakura slowly began to open her eyes, something that took a lot of effort. Her head was pounding and she still was unable to move her body. This was some sort of paralyzing attack and she wasn't sure how long it would last. She began wracking her brain of her medical training to figure a way to reverse the symptoms. The previous times she had encountered this, it had been someone else who had been affected with a paralyzing serum.

Turning her eyes as much as she could, Sakura tried to survey her surroundings. It was very dim in the room she was in. She still had feeling in her limbs although she couldn't move them and could feel the cool of cement underneath her. The room smelled dank and musty, as if there hadn't been anyone there in quite some time. There were no windows and a door off to her right looked very heavy and was probably sealed with some sort of jutsu.

Sakura wanted to kick herself for getting caught so easily. She was supposed to have her guard up and she clearly didn't. Now she was playing damsel in distress. Her green orbs watered with angry tears, but she refused to let them fall. Taking a deep breath, Sakura began analyzing her situation to try and find a way out of this mess.

"Well that was easier than I thought it would be."

Sakura was unable to see who was talking to her, but she knew from the voice it had to be that creep Tengumi. Unfortunately because of the paralysis, she was unable to speak. A pair of sandals moved in front of her vision. She was hauled up by her hair to see the face of her captor. He smiled widely at her, giving her a flash of his deep dimples.

"Well Sakura-chan," he cooed. "I will need some information about what the Leaf is up to. The war is brewing and we have allied with Earth Country in order to protect this village. So tell me, why have the Akatsuki allied with the Fire Nation?"

Sakura just stared at him. Was he that stupid that he couldn't even realize that the drug he'd given her made it so she couldn't speak? She was starting to feel a bit more confident about getting out of this situation.

Tengumi tapped his forehead. "Of course! You can't speak because of the drug! That's alright; we have someone here who can just take a peek in your mind instead. I know better than to reverse the agent, even if it's just a little bit."

Sakura heard that door she saw earlier open and dread began to fill her being. If they had someone with mind jutsu, they would be able to see all kinds of secrets that only top Leaf ninja knew. What was she supposed to do?

* * *

**Where do we go from here?! O.o**


End file.
